European Shares Poised For Steady Start
European stocks look set to open a tad higher on Monday after China Evergrande said it had resumed work on more than 10 real estate projects in six cities including Shenzhen and added it plans to prioritize growth of its nascent electric vehicles business over its troubled core real estate operations.
Asian markets were little changed as a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in China along with the government’s program to expand property-tax trials dented sentiment.
The dollar edged lower in Asian trade while Turkey’s lira weakened to a record low amid a diplomatic spat with key Western allies.
Gold gained ground on worries about rising inflation, with Atlanta U.S Fed President Raphael Bostic saying he expects high inflation to persist into 2022 and the central bank to raise interest rates by the end of next year.
Crude oil extended a rally, with Brent rising above $85 a barrel after Saudi Arabia said that the OPEC+ alliance should maintain its cautious approach to managing global crude supplies. Bitcoin was trading around $62,000.
In economic releases, the ifo Institute is scheduled to issue Germany’s business confidence survey data later in the day. Economists expect the business climate index to fall to 97.9 in October from 98.8 in September.
Across the Atlantic, this week’s trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.
On the earnings front, a slew of big-name companies including Facebook, General Electric, UPS, Alphabet, Coca-Cola, General Motors, McDonald’s, Ford, Amazon, Apple and Exxon Mobil are due to report their results this week.
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as earnings from several big-name companies proved to be a mixed bag and Fed Chair Jerome Powell sounded a note of heightened concern over persistently high inflation and made it clear that the U.S. central bank was “on track” to begin reducing its purchases of assets.
The Dow edged up 0.2 percent to reach a new record closing high while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8 percent.
European stocks closed higher on Friday as risks of contagion from troubled China Evergrande Group eased.
The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced half a percent. The German DAX rose half a percent, France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent.
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