European Shares To Open Lower On US Rate Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a cautious note Wednesday as fresh signs of economic strength stoked concerns that U.S. monetary policy will remain restrictive for longer.

Asian markets were broadly lower, with Japan's Nikkei index falling around 2 percent after suspected intervention by Japanese authorities to combat a sustained depreciation of the yen.

In economic releases, Eurozone retail sales and producer price data for August along with final purchasing managers' index figures for September may attract investor attention later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, reports on private sector employment, service sector activity and factory orders coupled with remarks by several Fed officials may influence market sentiment ahead of Friday's key monthly jobs report.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 27.7 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by another quarter point next month and a 39.2 percent chance of a quarter point rate hike in December.

Gold held steady near seven-month lows while oil struggled for direction ahead of an OPEC review of the global crude market and a weekly update of U.S. stockpiles.

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight to reach four-month lows and the 10-yeat Treasury yield hit a 16-year high, as the August job openings survey signaled a tight labor market, keeping the risks tiled toward another Fed rate hike.

The Dow dropped 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 lost 1.4 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 1.9 percent to extend the late summer selloff.

European stocks ended Tuesday's session notably lower on concerns over higher interest rates and the gloomy economic outlook.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 1.1 percent. The German DAX gave up 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined half a percent.