European Stocks Seen Opening Weak

(RTTNews) - European stock markets are likely to open negative on Monday tracking losses in Asian peers. China's surging Covid caseload and widespread protests against the strict restrictions dampened investor sentiment in most of the Asian markets.

On Friday, reaction to the ECB's minutes which showed a commitment to raising rates even in case of a recession had led to lackluster performance by the European benchmarks. U.K.'s FTSE 100 had gained 0.27 percent; Switzerland's SMI had increased 0.09 percent and France's CAC 40 had moved up 0.08 percent. Germany's DAX had edged up 0.01 percent. The pan-European Stoxx 600 had however dropped 0.02 percent.

The Wall Street had closed Friday's shortened session on a mixed note. Nasdaq Composite shed 0.52 percent to close at 11,226.36 whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.45 percent to finish trading at 34,347.03.

The FTSE 100 Futures (Dec) is currently trading 0.53 percent lower. The DAX Futures (Dec) is trading 0.60 percent lower. The CAC 40 Futures (Dec) had closed 0.2 percent higher on Friday.

American stock futures point to negative trends, with the US 30 (DJIA) index down 0.54 percent and US500 (S&P 500) down 0.72 percent.

Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower, dragged down by the Covid situation in China. Hong Kong's Hang Seng has declined 2.3 percent whereas China's Shanghai Composite is trading 1.4 percent lower. South Korea's KOSPI is trading 1.4 percent lower. New Zealand's NZX 50 has shed 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 is down more than half a percent whilst Australia's S&P ASX 200 dropped 0.4 percent. India's Nifty 50 has however gained 0.3 percent.

Safe haven flows to the U.S. Dollar have lifted the Dollar Index - a measure of the Dollar's strength relative to six currencies - by 0.4 percent to touch 106.39. The EUR/USD pair has weakened 0.43 percent to 1.0350, whereas the GBP/USD pair has dropped 0.37 percent to 1.2048.

Gold Futures for December settlement has dropped 0.30 percent to trade at $1,748.80 per troy ounce, versus the previous close of $1,754.00, amidst the Dollar's strength. China's Covid surge has caused both the crude oil benchmarks to plunge more than 3 percent. WTI Crude Futures for January settlement has dropped to $73.90, whereas Brent Crude Futures for February settlement has fallen to $81.13.

The Confederation of British Industry would be releasing the distributive trades survey for the month of November later in the day.

Earnings updates are due inter alia from British American Tobacco, Legal & General Group, Croda International and Admiral Group.