European Shares To Open Lower On Weak China Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks may drift lower on Monday as weak Chinese data revived worries about slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Business activity in the country deteriorated further in July, with manufacturing activity contracting for a fourth straight month and services sector showing weakness.

Asian markets, however, traded mostly higher after China's State Council outlined more measures to expand domestic consumption.

Japan's Nikkei index was up about 1 percent and the yen declined after the Bank of Japan announced a special open market operation to help stem a spike in yields.

The U.S. dollar headed for a monthly loss amid rising hopes of a soft landing for the U.S. economy.

The inflation outlook is "quite positive", and the base case scenario seems to be that we would avoid a recession, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on CBS's Face the Nation.

Gold and oil prices were seeing modest losses ahead of a busy week on the economic front, with global PMI data and the U.S. jobs report for July in focus.

The flash estimate for July euro area inflation and the eurozone preliminary flash estimate for second-quarter gross domestic product will be out later in the day.

The Bank of England's interest-rate decision is due on Thursday, with a 25-bps rate hike expected.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday and ended the week with gains, as top tech firms reported encouraging earnings results and the Fed's favorite inflation gauge slowed to a two-year low in June, easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The Dow edged up half a percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.9 percent.

European stocks ended Friday's session mostly higher after struggling for direction earlier in the day.

The pan European STOXX 600 slipped 0.2 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher.