European Shares Likely To Open On Cautious Note Ahead Of Fed Minutes

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening slightly lower on Wednesday as oil prices climbed and yields rebounded on fears Iran is stepping up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures rose about 1 percent toward $102 a barrel after U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said there had been nine attacks so far this month, half the number it reported for all of September in the waterway and Persian Gulf combined.

In a statement on the social media platform X, Yemen's Houthi group claimed that it carried out a series of drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports and military installations in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis denied being pushed back by government forces after Yemen's military said it had removed the pro-Iran group from areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait - a Red Sea chokepoint - and the port city of Mocha.

As Middle East energy risks mount, traders now await the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting later in the day and the start of the U.S. earnings season for further direction.

The Fed's September meeting minutes may shed additional light on Fed officials' thinking ahead of the central bank's next interest rate decision later this month.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates an 80.6 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged and just a 19.4 percent chance of another quarter point rate hike.

Asian markets were mostly lower in cautious trade, with technology stocks in the spotlight after the Financial Times reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX wants to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips.

Investors also await Samsung's third-quarter preliminary earnings for fresh signals on the strength of artificial intelligence-related chip demand.

The U.S. dollar held losses as stress in European bond markets abated and traders awaited speeches by Fed officials for additional clues on the path forward.

Gold fell toward $4,100 an ounce, with inflationary risks and rate hike concerns in focus.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as semiconductor chipmakers continued to benefit from a robust outlook and the 10-year yield pulled back from a 24-year high on data showing a wider than expected August trade deficit.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained half a percent and the S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to reach new record closing highs while the Dow advanced half a percent.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors assessed mixed regional data and comments from ECB Governing Council member Olli Rehn on inflation and borrowing costs.

Euro zone bond yields eased after a recent rally as Rehn said the ECB would make interest rate decisions meeting by meeting, based on incoming information.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained half a percent. While the German DAX surged 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both edged up by 0.4 percent.