European Shares Seen Tad Lower At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may drift lower at open on Monday as investors await U.S. economic data and the Federal Reserve rate decision this week for new insights into the U.S. economic and rate outlook.

The delayed U.S. JOLTS report, weekly jobless claims figures and the employment cost index are due this week.

The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter point on Wednesday and remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the post-meeting press conference could shed light on the U.S. central bank's plans for 2026.

Besides the Fed rate decision, the Bank of Canada, Swiss National Bank and Reserve Bank of Australia will announce their monetary policy decisions this week.

On the earnings front, a handful of corporate earnings reports, including those from Oracle, Broadcom and Adobe may garner investor attention this week.

Closer home, German industrial production data and Eurozone Sentix investor confidence survey results will be in the spotlight later today.

Asian markets were mixed as investors reacted to rising Japan-China military tensions and weak GDP data from Japan.

China's yuan climbed on upbeat trade data and signs of easing trade tensions. China's exports rebounded in November after an unexpected drop the previous month.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the weekend said China is complying with the terms of the bilateral trade agreements so far.

Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron warned of potential tariffs if Beijing does not act to reduce its substantial trade surplus with Europe.

The U.S. dollar was steady after two straight weeks of declines. Gold held firm above $4,200 an ounce after data released on Sunday showed China's central bank added to its reserves for a 13th straight month in November.

Oil was marginally lower after settling above $60 a barrel on Friday amid concerns about limited supplies from Russia and Venezuela.

U.S. stocks eked out modest gains on Friday after the closely watched PCE price index ticked up to 2.8 percent in September from 2.7 percent in August, matching estimates and boosting rate-cut hopes.

Separately, a measure of U.S. consumer confidence rose for the first time in five months as respondents' inflation expectations improved.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3 percent to reach a one-month high and the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to extend gains for a fourth day running while the narrower Dow edged up by 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Friday, failing to sustain early gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished marginally lower, snapping a three-day winning streak but gaining 0.4 percent for the week.

The German DAX climbed 0.6 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed half a percent and France's CAC 40 finished marginally lower.