European Shares Seen Lower As Investors Await Clarity On Fed Policy

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening lower on Wednesday, with inflation concerns and geopolitical tensions likely to keep underlying sentiment cautious.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand delivered a 50-bps rate hike for the fifth consecutive meeting and reiterated its resolve to break inflation back down to 2 percent, suggesting that fighting inflation is still a priority for many central banks.

South Korea and the U.S. military conducted missile drills after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan, prompting a warning for residents there to take cover.

Countries worldwide rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempts to annex Ukrainian territories following sham referendums Russia orchestrated in four regions in Ukraine.

Asian stocks were seeing cautious gains, as the dollar firmed up and U.S. stock futures declined ahead of U.S. ADP employment data, non-farm payroll print and ISM services data due this week.

Gold and oil prices ticked lower in Asian trade, as the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes edged up slightly amid uncertainty about whether economic circumstances have changed enough to prompt a policy change.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said on Tuesday the U.S. central bank needs to deliver "further rate hikes" and then hold those restrictive policies in place until it's "truly done" on inflation.

U.S. stocks rallied for a second day running on Tuesday as Treasury yields cooled further on data showing a drop in job openings in the country.

The Dow climbed 2.8 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 3.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 3.3 percent.

European markets also ended on an upbeat note Tuesday, building on gains seen in the previous session amid expectations that the Fed and other major central banks would slow tightening.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rallied 3.1 percent. The German DAX soared 3.8 percent, France's CAC 40 index surged 4.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 2.6 percent.