European Shares Likely To Open On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a mixed note Tuesday as traders look ahead to the release of July FOMC minutes and Fed Char Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in an interview to the Wall Street Journal that he would be open to lowering interest rates in September because of the rising possibility of a weakening labor market.

On the geopolitical front, Israel has agreed to the bridging proposal for peace put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his trip to the Middle East.

However, Hamas has accused the United States of "buying time for Israel to continue its genocide".

Asian stocks were mixed, with Chinese markets falling sharply after the People's Bank of China kept its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged following a surprise cut in July.

Japan's Nikkei rose about 2 percent as the yen's rally paused and technology stocks followed their U.S. peers higher on lower bond yields amid increasing confidence the Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates by 25 basis points at each of the three remaining 2024 meetings.

The dollar held near a seven-month low in Asian trading and gold held ground above $2,500 per ounce, while oil extended overnight losses on China demand concerns and due to the de-escalation of Middle East tensions.

U.S. stocks rose overnight amid a broad-based rally as economic worries subsided and Fed officials signaled readiness to start interest-rate cutting cycle.

In economic news, a reading on leading indicators fell much more than expected in July but didn't signal recession.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 1 percent to end higher for the eighth consecutive session while the Dow edged up 0.6 percent.

European stocks extended gains for a fifth day running on Monday as investors awaited further clues on the U.S. economy.

The pan European STOX 600 gained 0.6 percent. The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.6 percent.