European Shares Likely To Open On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a subdued note Monday as investors await mega-cap tech earnings and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision.

Mega-cap tech companies Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet along with prominent Dow components such as Boeing and Merck will unveil their quarterly earnings results this week.

The Fed's monetary policy announcement is due on Wednesday, and it is almost certain that the U.S. central bank will keep rates steady.

Traders will be looking for clues on whether the Fed will cut interest rates in March or not.

Monthly jobs data as well as other U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims, labor productivity and costs and manufacturing activity will also garner investor attention this week.

Asian markets were seeing modest gains as Chinese policymakers unveiled new measures to support China's equity market and the country's property sector.

The southern city of Guangzhou eased home-buying restrictions as part of measures to boost the property sector.

China's securities regulator announced over the weekend that it would halt the lending of certain shares for short selling from Monday.

Gold ticked higher in Asian trade despite the dollar starting the week on a steady footing. Oil traded higher amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to retaliate after news of three U.S. troops being killed by a drone attack in Jordan.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed on Friday after the release of disappointing first-quarter outlook from semiconductor giant Intel and the PCE index for December offering more evidence that inflation continues to moderate.

The Dow inched up 0.2 percent to a new record closing high while the S&P 500 finished marginally lower, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.4 percent.

European stocks closed at a two-year high on Friday, thanks to some upbeat quarterly earnings and signs of cooling inflation in the euro area.

The pan European STOXX 600 climbed 1.1 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 jumped 2.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 1.4 percent.