European Shares Seen Up In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Wednesday after Wall Street stocks bounced back from an early slide to end on a mixed note overnight, thanks to a recovery in technology stocks.

Asian markets were broadly lower as fears of an economic downturn deepened. Fresh COVID-19 outbreaks in China put millions under lockdown in major tourist cities, adding to uncertainty on growth prospects.

Oil prices rose over 1 percent in Asian trading after plunging 8 percent to drift below $100 a barrel for the first time since May on Tuesday amid fears that a recession will hit global demand for fuel.

Gold edged up from a near seven-month low hit in the previous session as the dollar rally paused and the two-year Treasury yield dropped below the 10-year yield amid optimism that inflation may have peaked.

Elsewhere, the pound held losses after the latest political turmoil. Boris Johnson's premiership is on the brink after finance and health ministers resigned in quick succession saying they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandals that have damaged his administration.

Factory orders data from Germany and retail sales figures from the eurozone are due later in the day, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

Across the Atlantic, investors await the minutes from the Fed's June meeting for clues related to the upcoming rate hike path.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as concerns about the state of the economy offset signs of an easing in U.S.-China tensions.

The Dow slipped 0.4 percent while the S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.8 percent.

European stocks nosedived on Tuesday as weak business activity data, record high gas prices and signs of repeated mass testing in China reignited worries of a recession.

The pan European Stoxx 600 lost 2.1 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both plunged around 2.9 percent, while France's CAC 40 index gave up 2.7 percent.