European Shares Poised For Flat Start As Investors Look To ECB

(RTTNews) - European stocks may struggle for direction at open on Tuesday, as investors keep an eye on bond markets and look ahead to Thursday's European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting for directional cues.

The ECB is likely to go for another jumbo 75 basis point increase to its deposit and refinancing rates even as the economic outlook darkens.

Asian markets traded mixed, gold held steady, and the dollar eased amid bets on less hawkish Fed, while oil prices were marginally higher after settling lower in choppy trade on Monday.

The British pound edged higher against the dollar on expectations that a Sunak-led government would bring further stability to markets.

On the data front, the ifo Institute is scheduled to issue Germany's business confidence survey results later in the day. Economists expect the business sentiment index to fall to 83.3 in October from 84.3 in the previous month.

Across the Atlantic, a reading on consumer confidence in October along with the latest earnings news may sway sentiment.

3M, Coca-Cola, General Electric, General Motors, Halliburton, JetBlue and UPS are among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the U.S. opening bell.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight, as investors awaited tech earnings and weak PMI figures for October bolstered hopes that the Fed might pivot from its tightening of monetary policy.

The Dow climbed 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.2 percent to reach their best closing levels in a month while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9 percent.

European stocks rose on Monday after the announcement that Rishi Sunak would replace Liz Truss as U.K. prime minister.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 1.4 percent higher at its highest level in nearly a week.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both gained around 1.6 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched up 0.6 percent.