European Shares Poised For Positive Opening

European stocks may open higher on Tuesday as Fed officials seek to ease market concerns about rising inflation.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said during a webinar that the weaker-than-expected April payroll report showed the U.S. economy had not yet reached the threshold to warrant scaling back the central bank’s massive bond purchases.

Separately, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan reiterated his view that he does not expect interest rates to rise until 2022.

Asian markets advanced as India reported another decline in the daily COVID-19 cases and the U.S. reported its lowest number of new coronavirus infections since the early days of the pandemic.

The dollar teetered near multi-month lows against European currencies, helping lift gold prices to a 3-1/2-month high.

U.S. Treasury yields were steady while oil held near a two-year high due to an improving fuel demand outlook in key regions such as the United States, China and Europe.

Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, inched closer to $45,000 following Musk’s criticism last week.

Labor market statistics from the U.K. and flash GDP estimates from the euro area are due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

Across the Atlantic, traders may keep an eye on the Commerce Department’s report on new residential construction for April.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its April monetary policy on Wednesday as investors look for further insight as to what it will take for Fed policymakers to begin tightening sooner than expected.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended off their day’s lows as inflation worries weighed and investors reacted to mixed readings on the manufacturing and housing sectors.

The Dow ended 0.2 percent lower, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.3 percent.

European stocks ended slightly lower on Monday, with a surge in coronavirus cases in Asia and mixed economic data from China weighing on sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat with a negative bias. The German DAX slid 0.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 index eased 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.2 percent.

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