European Shares Likely To Open On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Monday, bu8lding on a strong run for equities that pushed major European indexes to a record high last week.

U.S. stock futures ticked higher even as the federal government shutdown entered another week.

New developments from Washington, a preliminary reading on U.S. consumer sentiment for October, the release of minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting and scheduled address from several Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, will be in the spotlight as the week progresses.

Powell is due to deliver a speech at a banking conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

President Donald Trump has threatened to institute mass firings of government workers as soon as Monday, when the Senate is scheduled to again vote on a stopgap spending measure.

Also, media reports suggest that Trump is considering a $10 billion bailout for soybean farmers hit by China's boycott, highlighting Beijing's growing leverage in trade negotiations.

The U.S. earnings calendar will see financial results from America's largest airline, Delta Air Lines, and the world's third-biggest soft drinks firm, PepsiCo, among other companies this week.

Asian stocks were mostly lower in thin holiday trade, even as Japan's Nikkei surged nearly 5 percent to a record high after fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi was elected to lead the ruling party.

China and South Korean markets remain shut for holidays. Regional markets elsewhere drifted lower as investors pondered over the potential impact of U.S. President Trump's tariff policies and attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Oil prices jumped nearly 1.5 percent in Asian trade after OPEC+ announced a modest production boost of 137,000 barrels a day in November, tempering some concerns about supply additions.

The dollar was little changed, retracing some recent losses on uncertainty caused by the government shutdown.

Gold surged almost 1 percent to a new record high past $3,900 an ounce as U.S. shutdown worries added to the momentum from expectations of more Fed rate cuts.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as the government shutdown put the release of key economic data, including monthly jobs numbers, on hold.

However, a measure of U.S. services sector activity stalled in September amid a sharp slowdown in new orders and weak hiring, bolstering investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the coming months.

The S&P 500 edged up marginally and the Dow added half a percent to close at record highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eased 0.3 percent, dragged by sharp decline in shares of Palantir Technologies.

European stocks closed mostly higher on Friday after the release of regional manufacturing and services sector activity readings.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 gained 0.3 percent while the German DAX slid 0.2 percent.