European Shares Seen Opening Broadly Higher

European stocks are seen opening broadly higher on Monday, though U.K. markets may open a tad lower after a sharp fall in oil prices.

It’s a busy week for markets as the U.S. presidential election approaches.

Prominent U.S. companies that will report their earnings results this week include Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Intel Advanced Micro Devices, McDonald’s, Eli Lilly, ExxonMobil and Starbucks.

In economic releases, reports on U.S.GDP growth, consumer confidence, pending home sales, manufacturing sector activity, the monthly jobs figures and data on personal income and spending that includes the Fed’s preferred inflation readings, could influence the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decisions on interest rates.

Asian markets traded mostly higher ahead of key Chinese economic activity readings due this week.

Japan’s Nikkei jumped nearly 2 percent as the country’s ruling party lost its lower house majority, weakening the yen and boosting major exporters’ stocks.

However, some analysts say that the Bank of Japan is likely to remain undeterred on rate hikes despite the Liberal Democratic Party’s electoral shock.

Gold dipped on dollar strength and as Egypt proposed a two-day truce in Gaza aimed at securing “a complete ceasefire” after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.

Oil prices were down nearly 5 percent in Asian trade after Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran’s oil and nuclear facilities.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors braced for a busy week of earnings and economic data releases.

Adding to optimism over the economic outlook, a survey showed U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly improved in October.

The Dow shed 0.6 percent to close lower for the fifth straight day and the S&P 500 edged down marginally while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6 percent due to strong performance of Tesla shares.

European stocks closed slightly lower on Friday as the third-quarter earnings season ramped up.

The pan European STOXX 600 ended flat with a negative bias. The German DAX rose 0.1 percent, while France’s CAC 40 slid marginally and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 percent.

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