European Shares May Drift Lower As Growth Worries Mount

European stocks may open lower on Wednesday as global sentiment remains fragile amid concerns over aggressive Fed tightening, a worsening energy crisis in Europe and COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

The U.S. dollar held near two-decade highs and Treasury yields jumped, while gold prices slipped ahead of Thursday’s ECB meeting, with economists expecting another outsized rate hike to fight soaring inflation.

Asian markets fell broadly as U.S. 10-year treasuries yields rose to 3.365 percent, the highest since June 16 on hawkish Fed bets.

U.S, crude futures fell nearly 2 percent to hover around $85 a barrel in Asian trading on fears of weak demand.

In economic releases, preliminary euro zone unemployment data for the second quarter, Eurozone Q2 GDP figures and the U.K. inflation numbers for July will be published later in the session.

Across the Atlantic, reaction to remarks by Fed officials, the Beige Book and a report on the U.S. trade deficit may drive trading.

U.S. stocks fell overnight as trading resumed after Monday’s Labour Day recess.

The Dow dipped 0.6 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 0.4 percent as benchmark U.S. Treasury yields jumped to their highest levels since June on the back of strong services activity data.

European markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday after China pledged to make renewed efforts to boost its COVID-hit economy.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.2 percent. The German DAX climbed 0.9 percent, while France’s CAC 40 index and the U.K.’s FTSE both edged up around 0.2 percent.

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