European Shares Seen Mixed At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may struggle to find direction at open on Monday as a new Donald Trump era begins.

Trading volumes are likely to remain thin amid the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the U.S.

Donald Trump will commence his second presidential term with a swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol later in the day.

According to media reports, he is expected to sign over 200 executive actions immediately, addressing issues like border security and energy production.

Any significant actions in the early days of the new Trump administration on tariffs could have the biggest impact on the global economy and markets.

It remains to be seen how Trump's proposed tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, his country's biggest trading partners, will affect the U.S. economy, consumer prices and job markets.

Asian markets were mixed and the dollar held steady following a positive conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on issues including TikTok, trade and Taiwan in a phone call on Friday.

The yuan rose slightly as China left benchmark lending rates unchanged for a third consecutive month, as expected.

The Japanese yen attracted some dip-buyers amid expectations the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates on Friday.

Gold ticked higher to trade above $2,700 per ounce while oil prices were mixed.

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Friday and posted weekly gains for the first time in three weeks amid optimism over the health of the economy and path of interest rates.

In economic news, industrial production increased by much more than expected in December while U.S. single-family homebuilding rose to a 10-month high, separate reports showed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.5 percent, while the S&P 500 rallied 1 percent and the Dow added 0.8 percent to notch their biggest weekly gains since the week of the November presidential election.

European stocks closed higher on Friday amid optimism over interest rate cuts following dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and ECB Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.7 percent and logged its fourth consecutive weekly rise.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 jumped 1.4 percent to hit a record closing high while the German DAX and France's CAC 40 surged 1.2 percent and 1 percent, respectively.