European Markets Seen Opening On A Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Cautious sentiment is expected to prevail in stock markets in Europe on Tuesday morning as traders await the release of the FOMC minutes. The minutes are expected to provide further clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook. Thin year-end liquidity and upcoming New Year holidays are also expected to keep trading subdued across the region.

Wall Street had closed on a negative note on Monday amidst renewed concerns about exaggerated valuations for companies in the AI space. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.51 percent to finish trading at 48,7461.93. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also dropped 0.50 percent to close trading at 23,474.35. European markets had closed on a mixed note on Monday amidst the uncertainty surrounding the geopolitical situation in the region. France's CAC 40 gained 0.10 percent on Monday and finished trading at 8,112.02. The pan-European Stoxx-50 finished Monday's trading at 5,751.16, gaining 0.09 percent. Germany's DAX edged up 0.05 percent to close trading at 24,351.12. U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.04 percent to close at 9,866.53 on Monday. Switzerland's SMI slipped 0.16 percent to close at 13,222.16.

Current indications from the European stock futures indicate a mixed sentiment. The DAX Futures (Mar) is trading 0.01 percent higher. The FTSE 100 Futures (Mar) is trading 0.08 percent lower. The pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures (Mar) has slipped 0.05 percent. The CAC 40 Futures (Jan) stood 0.07 percent above the flatline. The SMI Futures (Mar) dropped 0.09 percent.

American stock futures are trading in mildly positive territory. The US 30 (DJIA) is trading 0.01 percent higher, whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is trading 0.03 percent above the flatline.

Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.26 percent whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng has added 0.83 percent. DJ New Zealand has gained 0.29 percent. South Korea's KOSPI has slipped 0.17 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 has dropped 0.13 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 has slipped 0.10 percent. India's Nifty 50 is trading 0.06 percent below the flatline.

The Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. dollar's strength relative to six currencies, is trading at 97.98, edging down 0.06 percent from 98.04 at the previous close. The EUR/USD pair has in the meanwhile edged up 0.04 percent to 1.1777. The GBP/USD pair has also added 0.04 percent to trade at 1.3512. The USD/CHF pair is trading flat at 0.7884. The EUR/GBP pair is trading 0.02 percent higher at 0.8717.

Gold has rebounded after a plunge of more than 4.5 percent on Monday. Gold Futures for February settlement are currently trading at $4,378.85, gaining 0.81 percent from the previous close of $4,343.60. The yellow metal had touched an all-time high of $4,584 on Friday.

Both the crude oil benchmarks have edged down from the flatline. Brent Crude Futures for March settlement is trading 0.07 percent lower at $61.45 versus $61.49 at the previous close. WTI Crude Futures for February settlement is currently trading 0.03 percent lower at $58.06 versus $58.08 at the previous close.

The KOF Leading Indicators report for December is due from Switzerland on Tuesday morning. Market spotlight is invariably on the minutes of the latest Federal Open Markets Committee due from the U.S. on Tuesday afternoon.