European Shares Seen Tad Higher As Investors Await Fed Minutes

(RTTNews) - European stocks look set to open on a positive note Wednesday, as investors await the release of minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting and the Euro zone's Q2 GDP data later in the day for clues on the economic and interest-rate outlook.

Unemployment figures for the single currency bloc, the latest U.K. inflation figures for July, a report on U.S retail sales and earnings from retailers Lowe's and Target may also sway sentiment as the day progresses.

Asian markets traded mostly higher as traders awaited more stimulus measures from China to revive economic growth.

Gold struggled for direction, the dollar dipped and Treasury yields were little changed while oil prices rose about 1 percent in Asian trading after industry data showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. oil and gasoline stocks.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight, as Walmart and Home Depot posted better-than-expected financial results and a slew of economic data painted a mixed picture of the economy.

Housing starts fell again in July and the New York's Fed's manufacturing gauge eased, while industrial production bounced back on strong manufacturing, separate reports showed.

The Dow rose 0.7 percent to extend gains for a fifth straight session and the S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent to reach its best closing level in almost four months, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent.

European stocks rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday amid hopes central banks will be less aggressive with rate hikes in the coming months.

The pan European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.2 percent. The German DAX gained 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index added 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched up 0.4 percent.