European Shares Poised For Lower Opening Amid China Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a tepid note Monday, as investors fret about weakening demand in China and repeated rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation.

Asian markets traded mostly lower after three people died in Beijing over the weekend and the country logged a record jump in daily cases, despite a stringent zero-COVID policy.

Authorities locked down part of the manufacturing hub of Guangzhou for five days and urged residents of the sprawling Chaoyang district to remain at home today.

Concerns over China as well as a potential nuclear crisis in the Russia-Ukraine conflict amid heavy shelling of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant helped spur safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar.

China's yuan touched a 10-year low as the People's Bank of China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the third straight month.

Oil extended steep losses from last week and gold prices fell further as the dollar gathered strength.

U.S. stocks struggled for direction before finishing higher on Friday but posted weekly losses, as weak data on home sales and leading economic indicators failed to ease investor worries about the Federal Reserve's path of monetary tightening.

The Dow gained 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 rose half a percent, snapping two days of losses reflecting a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended largely unchanged.

European markets closed higher on Friday despite some hawkish remarks from Fed officials and ECB President Christine Lagarde.

The pan European STOXX 600 jumped 1.2 percent. The German DAX advanced 1.2 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up half a percent.