European stocks may open flat to slightly higher on Wednesday as traders brace for the Fed’s 50 bps rate hike later in the day.
A hawkish surprise involving a 75-basis point move or an even more hawkish tone signaling several big increases over the coming months could spell doom for equities.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces on Tuesday began storming a steel mill containing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, where some Ukrainian defenders were still holed up.
Asian stocks gave up early gains in cautious trade, with markets in China and Japan still closed for holidays.
Fears of an economic slowdown in Europe and China drove safe-haven flows into the dollar, making greenback-priced gold less attractive for overseas buyers.
Bond yields traded mixed, while oil prices rose after having fallen more than 2 percent on Tuesday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks finished slightly higher after the release of positive data on factory orders and job openings.
The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both inched up around 0.2 percent while the S&P 500 gained half a percent.
European stocks rebounded on Tuesday after suffering heavy losses in the previous session. The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent, with German and Eurozone unemployment figures in focus.
The German DAX climbed 0.7 percent, France’s CAC 40 index added 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent.
European Shares Seen Tad Higher At Open
2022-05-04 05:37:32
