European Markets Seen Opening On A Positive Note

(RTTNews) - Positive sentiment is expected to prevail in stock markets in Europe on Wednesday morning as markets digest the minutes of the Fed's latest meeting and the hints of further easing contained therein. However, thin year-end volumes and New Year holidays are expected to keep trading subdued. Germany and Switzerland have market holidays whereas in the U.K. and France, equity markets would close early.

Wall Street had closed on a negative note on Tuesday as concerns over AI valuations of major tech companies eclipsed expectations surrounding further easing by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.20 percent to finish trading at 48,367.06. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also dropped 0.24 percent to close trading at 23,419.08. European markets had closed on a strong positive note on Tuesday, buoyed by prospects of further fed easing revealed in the FOMC minutes. U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the pan-European Stoxx-50 finished Tuesday's trading with a surge of around 0.75 percent. FTSE 100 closed at 9,940.71 whereas Stoxx 50 ended trade at 5,795.45. France's CAC 40 gained 0.69 percent on Tuesday and finished trading at 8,168.15. Germany's DAX rallied 0.57 percent to close trading at 24,490.41. Switzerland's SMI added 0.29 percent to close at 13,279.46.

Weighed down by weakness in tech and financial stocks, American stock futures are trading in mildly negative territory. The US 30 (DJIA) is trading 0.10 percent lower, whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is trading 0.15 percent below the flatline.

Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.21 percent whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng has slipped 0.87 percent. New Zealand's S&P NZX 50 closed trading on a flat note. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged down 0.03 percent. India's Nifty 50 is trading 0.44 percent above the flatline. Equity markets in Japan and South Korea are closed for a holiday.

Despite expectations of further Fed easing in 2026, the Dollar Index has strengthened 0.07 percent overnight to 98.31. The EUR/USD pair has in the meanwhile slipped 0.09 percent to 1.1737. The GBP/USD pair has also edged down 0.04 percent to trade at 1.3460. The USD/CHF pair is trading 0.11 percent higher at 0.7926. The EUR/GBP pair is trading 0.05 percent lower at 0.8720.

Gold has slipped 0.78 percent after a modest rebound on Tuesday. Gold Futures for February settlement are currently trading at $4,352.30, down from the previous close of $4,386.30. Nevertheless, the yellow metal is trading with a year-on-year surge of close to 67 percent.

Both the crude oil benchmarks have edged down from the flatline. Brent Crude Futures for March settlement is trading 0.08 percent lower at $61.28 versus $61.33 at the previous close. WTI Crude Futures for February settlement is currently trading 0.09 percent lower at $57.90 versus $57.95 at the previous close.

No major economic data releases are due from the region on Wednesday.