European Shares May Drift Lower With Tech Earnings In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a sluggish note Wednesday as investors react to downbeat earnings updates from Google parent Alphabet and AMD.

Alphabet's cloud sales narrowly missed Wall Street's estimates. Also, the internet giant projected $75 billion in 2025 capital expenditures, far exceeding the $57.9 billion that analysts expected.

Meanwhile, chipmaker AMD offered disappointing outlook on AI growth after reporting weaker-than-expected data center sales.

Burrito chain Chipotle met Street expectations for earnings but gave somewhat lackluster 2025 guidance.

Disney, Uber and Yum! Brands are among the prominent companies due to report their quarterly results before the U.S. opening bell.

Traders are also likely to assess the impact of recent tariff announcements on global growth, inflation and corporate profits.

After China announced retaliatory tariffs on 80 U.S. products, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that he is in no hurry to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Amid rising trade tensions, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced a temporary suspension of international package acceptance from China and Hong Kong.

Asian markets were mixed, with mainland China and Hong Kong markets declining after a private survey showed China's services activity expanded at a slower pace in January.

The Japanese yen gained significant ground on strong wage data.

Gold hit new near record highs while oil prices continue to fall on concerns about the impact of the trade war on global growth. Also, industry data showed rising stockpiles in the U.S.

The downside remained capped as Trump issued an executive order reinstating a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, targeting Tehran's oil exports.

He also proposed a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip at a press conference with the Israeli PM.

Eurozone final composite PMI figures and U.S. reports on the U.S. trade deficit, private sector employment and service sector activity may garner some attention later in the day.

U.S. stocks rose overnight after last-minute negotiations resulted in tariff reprieves on Trump's levies against Canada and Mexico.

Data showed U.S. job openings fell by the most in 14 months in December, but steady hiring and low layoffs suggested the labor market is constantly evolving.

Another report revealed that new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods dropped in December due to a sharp decline in civilian aircraft bookings.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent and the Dow edged up by 0.3 percent.

European shares ended a choppy session modestly higher on Tuesday amid hopes the EU and U.K. may avoid U.S. tariffs.

The pan European STOXX 600 inched up 0.2 percent. The German DAX gained 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.2 percent.