European Shares Seen Tad Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a positive note Wednesday, though volatility cannot be ruled out amid concerns over the possibility of a wider war in the Middle East.

Iran said early today that its missile attack on Israel was finished barring further provocation, after a salvo of some 180 ballistic missiles. But Israel and the U.S. promised to retaliate against Tehran's escalation.

Asian markets were flat to slightly lower against a conflicting background of easing monetary policy and rising geopolitical tensions.

Japan's Nikkei was down nearly 2 percent due to apprehensions over BoJ policy outlook. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up more than 5 percent as China's recent slew of stimulus continued to buoy markets. Chinese markets remain closed for a weeklong national holiday.

Gold dipped slightly in Asian trading but hovered close to its recent record highs.

Crude oil continued its march higher, with Brent crude nearing $75 a barrel as investors remained wary of potential supply disruptions.

The dollar held its sharpest gain in a week after data showed U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in August.

In economic news, speeches by ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos and chief economist Philip Lane coupled with a report from payroll processor ADP on U.S. private sector employment for September may garner investor attention later in the day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly U.S. jobs report, due on Friday.

U.S. stocks fell overnight after Iran launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah ally in Lebanon.

Concerns about the economic impact of a strike by dockworkers at seaports across the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and weak manufacturing data also weighed on markets.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5 percent, the S&P 500 declined 0.9 percent and the Dow dropped 0.4 percent.

European stocks reversed course to end lower on Tuesday as fears grew about a wider Middle East conflict, offsetting positive news that Eurozone inflation dropped below the ECB's 2 percent target for the first time in three years.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 0.4 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose half a percent.