European Shares May See Cautious Gains At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open slightly higher on Tuesday as easing geopolitical tensions and a soft inflation outlook bolstered hopes that the European Central Bank will soon start cutting interest rates.

Asian markets traded mixed after U.S. stocks clawed back some of their losses from last week overnight.

Regional gains, if any, remained limited ahead of earnings results from U.S. tech giants due this week.

Investors also await the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, this week for clues about the timing and pace of interest-rate cuts this year.

Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to leave the fed funds target rate unchanged at 5.25-5.50 percent at the conclusion of its April 30-May 1 meeting.

A firm dollar weighed on bullion, with spot gold falling about 1 percent to hover near $2,300 per ounce.

Treasuries held steady while oil prices rose about half a percent, buoyed by the prospect of potentially tighter supplies in the coming months.

Flash composite PMI figures from Germany, France. U.K., and Eurozone may garner some attention later in the day.

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight after a sell-off in the previous session. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent to snap a six-day losing streak as fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East ebbed and investors geared up for quarterly results from megacap companies.

The Dow rose 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1 percent.

European stocks gained on Monday in the wake of dovish ECB commentary and easing Middle East tensions. The pan European STOXX 600 inched up 0.6 percent.

The German DAX gained 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.6 percent to notch a record close on optimism that the Bank of England will cut interest rates twice this year.