European stocks are headed for higher openings on Monday as the U.S. stock market rallied over the weekend, raising hopes of economic recovery in the U.S., as well as expectations that central banks may not have to pull back on emergency stimulus measures so soon after last week’s Federal Reserve decision to end quantitative easing and continue with record-low interest rates at least until 2015.
LONDON — European stocks are expected to open higher on Wednesday after an overnight rally in the United States boosted sentiment in Asia-Pacific markets.
It is expected that the FTSE index in the U.K. will open 50 points higher at 7,340, the DAX in Germany will gain 107 points at 13,419, the CAC 40 in France will gain 44 points at 6,247, and the Italian FTSE MIB 174 points higher at 21,779, data from IG shows.
The higher opening for the European markets comes after choppy trade on Tuesday as the relief rally seen in the previous two sessions lost some momentum.
Nonetheless, U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, starting a rebound from last month’s lows, as traders forecasted strong corporate earnings reports and wagered that markets have reached a low point.
The shares in the Asia-Pacific jumped Wednesday following the spike in U.S. stocks.
Not only did the Wall Street markets give a positive lead, but there were also reports that Russia and Ukraine are close to an agreement that would end the blockade on grain exports, and that gas exports from Nord Stream 1 are likely to resume on schedule after maintenance is completed.
In the European Union, Frankfurt will be the epicenter of global economics when the European Central Bank holds a meeting, at which it has indicated that it will begin hiking interest rates for the first time in 11 years. Still, there’s more going on here than just that: there’s also the slowdown in growth, international conflict in Ukraine and threats to energy supplies.
There are earnings reports from AkzoNobel and ASML, and we’re waiting for the latest inflation data from the U.K.
