European Shares Seen Tad Lower As US Shutdown Looms

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening a tad lower on Tuesday as a U.S. government shutdown loomed and U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs on timber and wood furniture, escalating his trade war in the name of national security and boosting domestic manufacturing.

Trump also announced a 100 percent tariff on "any and all movies that are made outside of the United States," throwing the global entertainment industry into turmoil.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government is on the brink of a shutdown after a White House meeting between President Trump and his Democratic opponents yielded no breakthrough. Vice President JD Vance said he believes the government is headed towards a shutdown, which will likely disrupt several services starting October 1.

In economic releases, reports on U.S. job openings and consumer confidence may garner some attention later in the day ahead of Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report. The release of the jobs data could be delayed if the government shuts down.

On the geopolitical front, Trump has announced the support of Israel for a U.S.-sponsored peace deal to end the war in Gaza.

The 20-point peace plan seeks an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body.

Elsewhere, Russia has warned of a sharp escalation of the ongoing war if the United States supplies Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The U.S. dollar wobbled in Asian trade, helping gold soar to a record high above $3,860 per ounce.

Oil extended sharp overnight losses as another anticipated production increase by OPEC+ in November and the resumption of oil exports from Iraq's Kurdistan region via Turkey exacerbated concerns about a glut.

Overnight, U.S. stocks eked out modest gains as falling Treasury yields offset uncertainty around trade policies as well as concerns about a looming government shutdown.

Investors also cheered data that showed pending home sales for August jumped to the highest level in five months.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained half a percent, the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent and the Dow closed 0.2 percent higher.

European stocks closed slightly higher on Monday, led by gains in healthcare and luxury stocks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX ended little changed with a positive bias, France's CAC 40 inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTS 100 added 0.2 percent.