European Shares Seen Opening Up Amid Softer US Yields

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Wednesday after rates on U.S. government debt fell for the fourth straight session, driven by evidence of slowing economic activity that could prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year.

Asian markets traded mixed, with Japan's Nikkei falling more than 1 percent as strong wage data spurred fears of tighter monetary policy.

Chinese stocks were seeing modest losses despite the latest service sector PMI numbers painting a rosier picture of the economy.

The U.S. dollar held steady ahead of reports on private sector employment and service sector activity due later in the day.

The U.S. Labour Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Economists currently expect the report to show employment jumped by 190,000 jobs in May after an increase of 175,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.

Later today, most economists expect the Bank of Canada to cut its main interest rate for the first time in four years.

Traders expect a hawkish interest-rate cut from the European Central Bank when it meets on Thursday.

Treasury yields were little changed in Asian trading and gold traded higher while oil hovered near four-month lows after industry data pointed to an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Final composite Purchasing Managers' survey results from the euro area and the U.K. may influence trading sentiment as the day progresses.

Overnight, U.S. stocks eked out modest gains as Treasury yields extended their pullback seen over the past few sessions on data showing that U.S. job openings fell more than expected in April.

The Dow rose 0.4 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both inched up around 0.2 percent.

European stocks fell for the first time in three days on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the ECB meeting and the release of more U.S. economic data.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped half a percent. The German DAX lost 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 eased 0.4 percent.