European Shares Seen Opening Mixed With Middle East Tensions In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open broadly lower on Monday, though higher oil prices due to escalation of hostilities along the Israeli-Lebanese border may help lift energy stocks and Britain's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index.

With Israel and Hezbollah trading heavy fire early on Sunday, a round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a ceasefire and hostage deal to temporarily end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza ended on Sunday without a final agreement.

Asian stocks traded mixed, with Chinese, Hong Kong and Japanese markets retreating.

The yen soared to a three-week high against the dollar after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda hinted Friday that more hikes in interest rates may be coming if inflation stayed on course to sustainably hit the 2 percent target.

Gold held steady on lower Treasury yields while oil extended gains on fears a major spillover in fighting from the Gaza conflict into the Middle East could disrupt regional oil supplies.

Investors eye more economic data from the world's largest economy this week, with reports on durable goods orders and consumer confidence likely to attract investor attention early in the week.

A report on personal income and spending could be in focus later in the week, as it includes readings on inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The ifo Institute is slated to issue Germany's business confidence survey results for August later in the day. The sentiment index is expected to fall to 86.5 from 87.0 in the prior month.

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Friday and the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to just below 3.80 percent after Fed Chair Powell indicated the time has come policy to adjust.

"The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks," Powell said at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

The Dow climbed 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.2 percent to reach their highest closing levels since reaching record highs in mid-July while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.5 percent.

European stocks rose for a third straight session on Friday. The pan European STOXX 600 rose half a percent to reach its best closing level in almost a month.

The German DAX gained 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched up half a percent.