European Markets Seen Lower With Tech Stocks In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open lower on Wednesday, with tech stocks likely to be in focus after Alphabet and Microsoft posted disappointing earnings results.

Google parent Alphabet said it would slow hiring and control expenses after earnings and revenue missed expectations.

Microsoft Corp, which is battling a slumping PC market and a strong dollar, forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street targets across its business units.

Earnings from Apple and Amazon are scheduled for Thursday.

Asian markets followed Wall Street higher amid signs that longer-term yields may have peaked and that Fed rate increases are already working to slow the world's largest economy.

The dollar flirted with a three-week low versus major peers, while the British pound hung close to the six-week peak reached on Tuesday after new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to lead the country out of a "profound economic crisis".

Gold traded slightly higher while oil prices fell after industry data showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose more than expected in the week ended Oct. 21.

Overnight, U.S. stocks rallied to score a three-day winning streak after a sharp pullback by Treasury yields and better than expected third quarter earnings from the likes of General Motors and Coca-Cola.

The Dow rose 1.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.6 percent to reach their best closing levels in over a month as weak data on housing prices and consumer confidence stoked hopes the Fed will slow its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of strong earnings updates and looked ahead to upcoming policy announcements from the ECB and the Federal Reserve.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.4 percent to close at its highest level since Sept 20. The German DAX gained 0.9 percent and France's CAC 40 index climbed 1.9 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended marginally lower.