European Shares Seen Lower At Open On Hawkish Fed Comments

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open a tad lower on Tuesday as interest-rate concerns persist and the sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash fueled uncertainty about oil supplies.

Investors also look ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting, commentary from Fed officials, and an earnings report from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia for directional cues.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday that it is difficult to tell if the slowdown in inflation is "long lasting."

Vice Chair Michael Barr stated in a speech that the Fed's restrictive policy would need "some further time to continue to do its work."

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that prices will drop at a slower pace than many had expected.

Asian markets paused for breath after seven days of gains. Gold slipped from a record high as the dollar rose slightly against other major currencies.

The oil market is showing signs of weakness despite an uptick in geopolitical tensions ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on supply.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed as Treasury yields climbed on hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7 percent to close at a record high ahead of Nvidia's closely watched earnings report.

The S&P 500 finished marginally higher while the Dow slipped half a percent after closing above 40,000 Friday.

European stocks closed higher on Monday as commodity prices surged to record levels amid elevated geopolitical tensions and optimism over Chinese economic recovery.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both edged up by 0.4 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended flat with a positive bias.