European Shares Seen Up Ahead Of Busy Week Of Data, Fed Speeches

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open flat to slightly higher on Monday as investors react to hawkish comments from Fed officials and look for progress in U.S. debt ceiling talks.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Sunday he remains "optimistic" about finding an agreement with his Republican opponents to raise the U.S. debt limit and avoid a default. Talks between Biden and lawmakers are likely to resume on Tuesday, after getting postponed on Friday.

Meanwhile, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said in PBS interview that the U.S. central bank is trying to slow inflation without sending the economy into a recession.

Goolsbee's comments followed those of Fed Governor Michelle Bowman who warned there is no 'consistent evidence' that inflation is under control.

Asian stocks traded mixed as investors eye a string of Chinese data this week for directional cues.

Earlier today, China's central bank rolled over maturing medium-term policy loans while keeping interest rates unchanged.

The dollar held onto recent gains ahead of a slew of U.S. reports due this week on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and existing home sales.

Traders also await speeches from several Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday, heading to the Fed's June meeting.

Earnings news may also attract attention, with retail giants Walmart, Home Depot and Target among the prominent companies due to report their quarterly results this week. Gold edged up slightly in Asian trading while oil prices fell nearly 1 percent on fears of economic slowdown in different parts of the world.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as debt ceiling worries deepened, a measure of consumer sentiment hit a six-month low and long-term inflation expectations unexpectedly accelerated in early May to a 12-year high, adding to recession worries.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent to notch its second straight losing week while the Dow finished marginally lower to extend losses for the fifth consecutive session.

European stocks ended Friday's session higher amid optimism the Federal Reserve would halt interest-rate increases in the next policy review in June.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose about half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.3 percent.