European Shares To Open On Firm Note As Fed Worries Ease

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a steady note Tuesday as dovish Fed comments offset concerns over heightened geopolitical risks.

The dollar and bond yields retreated while gold climbed to over a one-week high as dovish remarks by Fed officials prompted investors to undercut the likelihood of further Fed rate increases.

Amid easing rate concerns, investors now look ahead to the release of U.S.CPI data and minutes of the Fed's September monetary policy meeting this week for further direction.

A collection of speeches from ECB President Christine Lagarde, Fed's Raphael Bostic, Christopher Waller, Neel Kashkari and Mary Daly may sway sentiment as the day progresses.

Oil prices also drifted lower in Asian trade, after having rallied more than 4 percent in the previous session.

Both U.S. and Israeli officials have said that they have seen no evidence Iran was directly involved in this weekend's events.

If evidence emerges, the U.S. may enforce oil sanctions against Iran more strictly and that would further tighten an already tight market.

Asian markets were broadly higher, led by Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Chinese markets fell after embattled property developer Country Garden said it was unable to pay a loan and that it might miss upcoming overseas debt payments as a result of plunging sales.

U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end higher overnight and Treasury yields declined as dovish Fed comments outweighed concerns around the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said in a speech that the central bank needs to "proceed carefully to balance the risk of tightening too much."

Fed officials Mary Daly and Lorie Logan also recently said that tighter financial conditions could limit future rate hikes.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both climbed around 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4 percent.

European stocks fell on Monday as rising oil prices and another batch of disappointing eurozone economic data stoked concerns about inflation and economic growth.

The pan European STOXXX 600 slid 0.3 percent. The German DAX dropped 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.