European Markets Seen Opening Positive On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - Stock markets in Europe are expected to open on a mildly positive note on Wednesday amidst the strong rally in Wall Street on Tuesday fueled by Fed rate cut hopes. Anxiety ahead of ECB's interest rate decision on Thursday, the spike in Middle East tensions as well as worries about the release of inflation readings from the U.S. are however likely to limit gains.

Wall Street had closed at record highs on Tuesday as a massive downward revision to the jobs data cemented hopes of a quarter-percentage rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.43 percent to finish trading at 45,711.34. The Nasdaq Composite also rallied 0.37 percent to close trading at 21,879.49.

European markets had however closed on a mixed note on Tuesday amidst anxiety ahead of the European Central Bank's interest rate decision on Thursday as well as the uncertain political situation in France. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rallied 0.23 percent followed by France's CAC 40 that gained 0.19 percent. The pan-European Stoxx-50 edged up 0.09 percent. Switzerland's SMI dropped 0.23 percent whereas Germany's DAX lost 0.37 percent.

Current indications from the European stock futures indicate a mildly positive sentiment. The DAX Futures (Sep) is trading 0.37 percent higher followed by the pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures (Sep) that is trading 0.26 percent higher. The FTSE 100 Futures (Sep) is trading flat. The SMI Futures (Sep) had closed 0.01 percent higher on Tuesday. The CAC 40 Futures (Sep) has however dropped 0.14 percent.

American stock futures are trading directionless as rate cut hopes contrasted with anxiety ahead of updates to producer price and consumer price inflation. The US 30 (DJIA) is trading 0.08 percent lower, whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is trading 0.28 percent above the flatline.

Asian stock markets are trading on a positive note taking cues from a strong lead on Wall Street on Tuesday. South Korea's KOSPI has surged 1.7 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng has jumped 1.2 percent. DJ New Zealand has rallied 0.96 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 has gained 0.83 percent. India's Nifty 50 has witnessed an increase of 0.60 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 is trading 0.33 percent higher. China's Shanghai Composite has also added 0.19 percent.

The Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. dollar's strength relative to six currencies, is trading at 97.71, a tad below the flatline as rate cut hopes dragged down the greenback. The EUR/USD pair has in the meanwhile edged up 0.04 percent to 1.1715 and the GBP/USD pair has added 0.13 percent to trade at 1.3541.

Gold prices are trading close to the flatline after scaling a fresh peak on Tuesday. Gold Futures for December settlement is trading at $3,682.70, versus the previous close of $3,682.20.

The escalation in the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East lifted crude oil prices. Brent Crude Futures for November settlement is trading at $67.06 versus $66.39 a day ago. WTI Crude Futures for October settlement is at $63.30 versus $62.63 at close on Tuesday.

No major data updates are due from the region. After the massive annual jobs data revision from the U.S. on Tuesday, all eyes are on the U.S. producer price inflation readings for August due on Wednesday morning.

Major updates to earnings due from the region include Inditex, Clas Ohlson, Baloise Holding, Old Mutual, Vistry Group and Pan African Resources.