European Shares Seen Little Changed At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open flat to slightly lower on Monday as investors react to mixed comments from Federal Reserve officials.

Fed vice chair for supervision Michael Barr said on Friday officials are likely at or near the end of their tightening campaign.

San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly said policymakers aren't certain inflation is on a path to their 2 percent target.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the U.S. central bank must be patient and resolute, and she wouldn't take additional firming off the table.

U.S. futures struggled for direction after the S&P 500 capped its third straight weekly gain — the longest run since July.

Asian markets traded mixed, with Japan's Nikkei average slipping into red after hitting a 33-year high.

Chinese and Hong Kong markets advanced after China's central bank left benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing.

The dollar extended declines and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered near a two-month low on dovish Fed bets.

Investors widely believe that the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates over the next several months before cutting rates in mid-2024.

Gold held steady while oil extended Friday's rally on the buzz that OPEC+ is considering deeper cuts at the 26 November meeting in Vienna.

In the Middle East, media reports suggest that Israel and Hamas are nearing an agreement on the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Trading in the U.S. may remain subdued this week due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

Nonetheless, reports on durable goods orders, existing home sales and weekly jobless claims may still attract attention along with the minutes of the latest Fed meeting.

U.S. stocks finished slightly higher on Friday as bond yields fell further on dovish Fed expectations and reports on housing starts and building permits painted a positive picture of the world's largest economy.

The S&P 500 inched up 0.1 percent to clinch a third straight winning week and reach its best closing level in well over two months. The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both saw marginal gains.

European stocks rose notably on Friday amid growing optimism that global central banks will aggressively cut interest rates next year.

The pan European STOXX 600 rallied 1 percent. The German DAX rose 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.3 percent.