European Shares Seen Up As Inflation Concerns Ease

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening higher on Monday as investors monitor the situation in oil markets and await cues from the third-quarter U.S. earnings season.

Financial giants Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Bank of America (BAC) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week along with healthcare giants Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and UnitedHealth (UNH).

Chipmaking bellwether ASML Holding NV will report its earnings results on Wednesday, followed by a host of major technology companies next week. Their earnings and guidance updates may offer more cues on the artificial intelligence trade.

This week will also see the release of reports on U.S. consumer and producer price inflation that could impact expectations for the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates an 82.8 percent chance the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged after last month's quarter point rate hike.

However, the central bank is still widely expected to raise rates by another quarter point at its December meeting.

According to analysts, strong earnings combined with moderating inflation would offer the most supportive backdrop for equities.

Helping ease concerns over sticky energy-driven inflation, Brent crude futures fell more than 1 percent toward $103 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and claimed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to an "energy ceasefire" and will halt attacks on each other's energy facilities.

The U.S.-Russia diesel deal on 500,000 metric tons of fuel to reach international markets cast doubt on the likelihood of the White House imposing new sanctions on Russia.

Trump threatened to cut intelligence and weapons support if Kyiv didn't comply.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continued after the announcement. Volodymyr Zelanskiy stated Ukraine supports the ceasefire if Russia reciprocates. Moscow has not responded.

The downside in oil prices was capped by fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia's aviation infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthi militants and a drone strike on a tanker near the Sohar anchorage off Oman.

After the deadly airport strike, U.S. President Trump said he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Houthis in Yemen.

Asian markets were mixed, with South Korea's Kospi falling nearly 3 percent due to worsening investor sentiment in the semiconductor sector on growing concerns over the AI industry in the U.S.

Markets elsewhere traded higher, with a holiday in Japan keeping regional trading volumes light.

The U.S. dollar held steady near its strongest level in a year and a half, while gold edged down slightly to trade below $4,200 an ounce after rising to a one-week high on Friday.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday to close a record-setting week after the announcement of major deals in the technology and communications sectors.

Investors monitored developments in energy markets after President Trump announced a deal to obtain diesel from Russia to lower fuel prices and blamed Ukraine for war and energy crisis in a sharp reversal of U.S. policy ahead of the midterm elections.

It was stated that Russian supplies would begin with over 300,000 tons immediately, followed by additional quantities throughout November.

Investors shrugged off the results of a survey, which showed sentiment among U.S. consumers deteriorated for a third straight month in October as a result of rising cost of living because of the Middle East conflict.

While the Dow rose 0.8 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both gained around 0.6 percent.

European stocks recovered from four-month lows on Friday as oil prices and bond yields eased on U.S. President Trump's remarks dismissing speculation of pre-midterm military action against Iran.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 1 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both climbed 1.1 percent while France's CAC 40 added 1 percent.