European Shares To Drift Lower At Open

European stocks may drift lower at open on Tuesday as investors fret over a slowdown in economic and corporate earnings growth.

Asian markets traded mostly lower in thin holiday trade after a soft GDP reading from South Korea and BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda’s comments indicating that he will maintain ultra-dovish monetary stance at a policy meeting on Friday.

The U.S. earnings season picks up pace, with 3M, Biogen, Dow, General Electric, General Motors, McDonald’s, PepsiCo and UPS among the prominent companies releasing their quarterly results before the opening bell later today.

Investors also look ahead to big tech earnings, with Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, Meta Platforms and Microsoft due to unveil their financial results this week.

On the economic front, U.S. reports on consumer confidence, new home sales, durable goods orders, first quarter GDP and personal income and spending are likely to attract attention in the coming days, heading into the Fed meeting next week.

The report on personal income and spending includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

Oil and gold prices were little changed as the dollar steadied after hitting a ten-day low in early Asian trade.

U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight as investors braced for mega tech earnings, economic data and central bank meetings in the coming days.

The Dow edged up 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 inched up marginally while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3 percent.

European stocks closed flat after a choppy ride on Monday. The pan European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower.

The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent, while France’s CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended little changed with a negative bias.