European Shares Set To Open On Firm Note

European stocks are likely to open higher on Tuesday despite mixed earnings news from major U.S. companies.

Social media giant Facebook reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings while revenue missed estimates.

Computer peripherals maker Logitech International reported an increase in its second-quarter sales, while non-GAAP operating income declined 40 percent during the quarter.

Universal Health Services reported third-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Asian markets traded mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei index climbing nearly 2 percent after a new poll suggested that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is likely to keep substantially more than half the seats in parliament in this weekend’s general election.

Chinese and Hong Kong markets were subdued after China said it would roll out a pilot real estate tax in some regions in the coming five years.

Gold edged lower in Asian trade as the dollar and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose a little bit.

Oil gained ground as traders shifted focus to weekly inventory data and upcoming talks between Iran and Western powers.

It’s a quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. Across the Atlantic, trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on home prices, new home sales and consumer confidence.

As the debate over inflation risks intensify, traders await the ECB rate decision on Thursday for hints on when the central bank might start raising historically low interest rates or tweak the pace of bond buying under its massive pandemic-era stimulus program.

Elsewhere, British finance minister Rishi Sunak is scheduled to present the country’s budget on Wednesday and it is widely expected that the budget will include an extra £5.9 billion of spending for the health service over the next few years.

The U.S. Federal Reserve meets next week and it is likely that the U.S. central bank will announce plans to begin scaling back its asset purchase program.

U.S. stocks advanced overnight as Tesla shares surged on a huge rental order of 100,000 cars and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed confidence that congressional Democrats are near a deal on a large spending package.

The Dow edged up 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 added half a percent to reach new record closing highs while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent.

European stocks ended mostly higher on Monday as worries about China Evergrande’s debt woes eased.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat with a positive bias. The German DAX rose 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent while France’s CAC 40 index dropped 0.3 percent.

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