European Shares Seen Opening Up As Nvidia Earnings Loom

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a steady note Wednesday as investors await earnings from AI bellwether Nvidia for more clarity about the sustainability of the once-hot artificial intelligence trade.

Nvidia's fourth-quarter earnings along with reports from Lowe's, TJX and Salesforce are due later in the day.

On the economic front U.S. reports on new home sales and building permits may garner some attention ahead of the release of the personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday. The PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

Asian markets traded mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallying 2.5 percent led by technology stocks amid Chinese AI optimism.

Japan's Nikkei was down more than 1 percent to touch a four-month low as the yen strengthened on worries about the U.S. economic outlook and speculation that the Bank of Japan will continue on its rate hike path.

The slide in 10-year yields reversed in Asian trading after the U.S. House of Representatives advanced President Donald Trump's tax-cut agenda calling for dep cuts in safety-net programs such as Medicaid.

Copper prices climbed as Trump ordered an investigation of copper imports in what is a first step toward potential tariffs on the metal.

Gold held steady after falling sharply to its lowest level in over a week on Tuesday. Oil ticked higher but hovered near two-month lows on demand concerns.

The dollar struggled near an 11-week low as signs of slowing U.S. growth fueled bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

Markets currently expect that the Fed will resume cutting interest rates in June and could reduce short-term borrowing costs again in September.

On Wall Street, the main indexes touched a more than four-month low overnight while the yield on the two-year note hit its lowest since November as weak economic data added to uncertainty over Trump administration policies.

Data showed consumer confidence deteriorated in February at its fastest pace in three-and-a-half years and average 12-month inflation expectations surged, stirring fresh concerns about the state of the economy.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 dipped half a percent to end lower for the fourth straight session while the narrower Dow rose 0.4 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors reacted to Trump's tariff threats and weak economic data from the U.S. and Germany.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX finished marginally lower and France's CAC 40 shed half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.1 percent.