European Shares To See Cautious Start As Israel Steps Up Gaza Strikes

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening flat to slightly lower on Tuesday as the U.S. and its allies stepped up diplomatic efforts to prevent the war between Israel and Hamas from engulfing the wider region.

As concerns mount over a possible larger regional conflict, U.S President Joe Biden will pay a solidarity visit to Israel on Wednesday.

During a phone call on Monday, Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi have discussed ongoing efforts to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the White House said.

Meanwhile, after a flurry of calls to key regional players, Russia said there was a "unanimous opinion" on the need for a cease-fire.

Asian stocks traded mostly higher, with benchmark indexes in Japan and South Korea rising over 1 percent each, even as Israeli forces kept up their bombardment of Gaza after efforts to arrange a cease-fire stalled.

The dollar index was marginally higher and Treasury yields ticked higher ahead of key U.S. and Chinese data as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech due this week.

German ZEW survey results and U.S. retail sales data may sway markets later in the day.

Traders await U.S. reports on industrial production, housing starts and existing home sales in the comings days for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

Investors also braced for a busy week of earnings, with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Tesla, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson among the companies scheduled to announce their quarterly results this week.

Gold extended losses for a second day running while oil prices were little changed after falling over 1 percent overnight.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight as earnings optimism helped outweigh concerns over rising bond yields and the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Investors shrugged off the New York Federal Reserve's report showing worsening conditions within its region's manufacturing sector in October.

The Dow advanced 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.2 percent.

European stocks eked out modest gains on Monday, with financials and mining stocks leading the surge.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both edged up around 0.3 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent.