European Shares Set To Open Mostly Lower; FTSE 100 May Rise

(RTTNews) - European stocks look set to open mostly lower on Tuesday as investors fret about France's uncertain political outlook, the country's economic stability and growth.

U.K. stocks may rise at open after Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves set out plans to unblock infrastructure projects and private investment as part of a new "national mission" to drive economic growth.

The French political landscape remains fragmented after no party secured an absolute majority in parliament following Sunday's election result.

There is much uncertainty surrounding the type of government that will emerge. The potential for policy gridlock has raised concerns about the new government's ability to implement necessary reforms and maintain the country's sovereign rating.

Asian markets traded mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei rallying more than 2 percent, buoyed by a weaker yen and gains in tech stocks.

The dollar hovered near a multi-week low versus peers as investors looked ahead to key U.S. data on consumer and producer price inflation as well as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony for clues on the U.S. central bank's policy path.

Powell is set to address Congress today and tomorrow while the U.S. CPI report for June will be released on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. earnings season gets underway in earnest this week, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. scheduled to report their quarterly results on Friday.

Gold ticked up slightly in Asian trade while oil extended declines after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil producing hub in Texas caused less damage than expected.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as investors braced for a busy week of key economic events and digested data signaling a slowdown in payroll hiring in the second half of the year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to hit record highs as shares of chipmakers surged. The Dow ended marginally lower.

European stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as France's legislative elections resulted in a hung parliament, with the National Assembly divided into three distinct blocs.

The pan European STOXX 600 ended flat with a negative bias. The German DAX also finished marginally lower, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent.