European Shares May Follow Asian Peers Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open on a steady note Tuesday after China reported a drop in the number of daily infections for the first time in more than a week and the country's regulator announced new measures to support the property sector.

Meanwhile, amid unrest over COVID-19 restrictions, China's state council will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. Beijing time.

Asian markets were broadly higher, with China's Shanghai Composite index climbing more than 2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surging 4 percent.

Gains elsewhere remain limited after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard reiterated on Monday that interest rates have to be raised to at least 5.00-5.25 percent from the current 3.75-4.00 percent.

Gold traded higher on dollar weakness, while oil prices rose over 2 percent on speculation that OPEC+ may resort to further production cuts in its forthcoming meeting.

In economic releases, flash inflation data from Germany and economic sentiment survey results from the euro area are due later in the session.

Across the Atlantic, trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to reports on home prices and consumer confidence.

Other key releases due this week include Thursday's personal consumption expenditures report - a key inflation measure for the Federal Reserve - and November payrolls report, scheduled for Friday.

Investors also await Wednesday's speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell for hints into what future interest rate hikes could look like.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Monday that financial markets are still underestimating the degree to which the Fed will need to keep policy tight.

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight on concerns that widespread protests in Beijing against severe pandemic restrictions could exacerbate global supply chain interruptions.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both tumbled around 1.5 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.6 percent.

European stocks fell from three-month highs on Monday, as China logged record-high COVID-19 infections and ECB President Christine Lagarde said that Euro zone inflation has not peaked and it risks turning out even higher than currently expected.

The pan European STOXX 600 slipped 0.7 percent. The German DAX lost 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 index shed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 eased 0.2 percent.