European Stocks Seen Lower At Open

European stocks are seen opening a tad lower on Tuesday as investors consider the mounting risks to growth from spiking Covid-19 cases in Asia and elsewhere.

Asian markets fell broadly as the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged and cut its inflation forecast.

Chinese shares led regional declines after the country’s top market watchdog said that it has started an investigation into food-delivery giant Meituan for suspected monopolistic practices, an extension of the campaign to rein in the country’s technology behemoths.

Business and consumer confidence data from Italy is due later in the day, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

Sweden’s central bank is set to announce its interest rate decision at 3.30 am ET. The bank is expected to hold its key rate at zero percent.

Across the Atlantic, traders are likely to keep an eye on the latest reports on home prices and consumer confidence.

Earnings news is likely to be in focus, with electric automaker Tesla beating Wall Street’s expectations for profit after the close of Monday’s trading.

3M, BP, Eli Lilly, General Electric, Hasbro, and UPS are among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading later today.

The dollar held near multi-week lows as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy, but traders will be paying close attention to any changes to the accompanying statement that may signal a shift in the near future.

U.S. stocks ended broadly higher overnight as investors braced for a deluge of earnings reports from big U.S. companies and the April FOMC meeting.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to reach new record closing highs, while the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.

European stocks advanced on Monday as investors geared up for a busy week of earnings and economic data releases.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.3 percent. The German DAX inched up 0.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 index edged up 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent.