European Shares Seen Tad Lower At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a cautious note Monday ahead of a busy week of central bank meetings in the United States, Britain and Japan.

The highly anticipated Federal Reserve interest-rate decision is due on Wednesday, with no change expected.

Traders expect the Bank of Japan to tweak its yield curve control policy when it wraps up a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.

The Bank of England is to hold its penultimate meeting of the year on Thursday, with economists anticipating a 'status quo policy update.'

Meanwhile, Israel stepped up ground attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza but held back from a full-on incursion, helping ease fears of a wider Middle East conflict involving regional superpower Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Asian shares traded mixed in cautious trade as investors await cues from global reports on manufacturing and service sector activity.

Japan's Nikkei index was down over 1 percent as new poll surveys showed dwindling support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida despite the announcement of tax rebates and handouts to help ease the impact of inflation.

U.S. earnings also remain on investors' radar, with Apple, Airbnb, McDonald's, Moderna and Eli Lilly & Co among the prominent companies due to report their results this week.

Quarterly national accounts and flash inflation figures from the euro area are due later in the day, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

The dollar held steady in Asian trade and gold traded slightly weak above the $2,000 mark, while oil prices fell over 1 percent after ending 3 percent higher on Friday.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday but notched weekly losses on fears of a recession and interest rates staying higher for longer.

The Dow fell 1.1 percent to hit a seven-month low and the S&P 500 dropped half a percent to reach a five-month closing low after data showed both inflation and consumer spending rose in September.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.4 percent after Amazon trounced analysts' expectations for Q3 revenue and earnings.

European stocks closed lower on Friday amid concerns about the earnings and growth outlook.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.8 percent. The German DAX eased 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.9 percent.