European stocks may open on a positive note Wednesday, as a retreat in oil and other commodity prices helped ease fears over already elevated inflation.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia will continue their peace talks today, raising hopes the war could end sooner than expected.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that peace talks were sounding more realistic but more time was needed for the decisions to be in the interests of the country.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks.
The European Union launched a new barrage of sanctions against Russia while the latter said it was issuing a “stop list” to prevent members of the Biden administration from entering Russia.
Asian markets advanced as a sell-off in Chinese tech shares eased. The dollar held near a five-year peak versus the yen while gold held near a two-week low as the Federal Reserve prepares to announce its first rate hike since 2018.
Oil prices rose in Asian trade after settling below $100 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since late February.
It’s a light economic calendar in Europe, with no tier one releases. Across the Atlantic, the Fed announcement along with reports on retail sales, import and exports prices, and homebuilder confidence will be in the spotlight.
U.S. stocks rallied overnight as oil and industrial and agricultural commodity prices continued to fall, and a report showed producer prices moderated in February, helping ease fears of inflation and a broad economic slowdown.
The Dow surged 1.8 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.9 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 2.1 percent.
European stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact of Covid-19 resurgence in China and the country’s support for Russia in the Ukrainian invasion.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dipped 0.3 percent. The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent, France’s CAC 40 index edged down 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 eased 0.3 percent.
Business News
European Shares Set For Steady Open
2022-03-16 05:38:48
