European Shares Poised To Start Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a positive note Monday, tracking gains in U.S. index futures.

Tech stocks could be in focus ahead of Apple's 'It's Glowtime' event later today, Oracle earnings due after the market close and Nvidia chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor's August sales figures due early Tuesday.

This week's trading is likely to be driven by reaction to closely watched U.S. reports on consumer and producer price inflation for August and the University of Michigan's consumer survey.

The U.S. Labour Department will release the consumer price index early Wednesday and the producer price index before Thursday's open. Tame readings could give policymakers ammo for making a 50-bps rate cut on Sept. 18.

Closer home, the governing council of the European Central Bank will meet on Thursday and it its widely expected that the board will reduce interest rates for the second time this year.

Asian stocks were mostly lower, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets leading losses after the release of inflation data.

Official data showed Chinese consumer inflation rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in August, up slightly from 0.5 percent in July.

On the contrary, producer prices fell 1.8 percent, extending a deflationary run that has lasted since late 2022.

The U.S. dollar held to tight ranges due to uncertainty on the scale of a possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has announced a plan to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from countries that move away from using the U.S. dollar in international trade.

Gold was little changed under the crucial $2,500 per ounce mark while oil rose over 1 percent as a potential hurricane system approached the U.S. Gulf Coast.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday as weaker-than-expected job growth signaled an economic slowdown.

Data showed non-farm payroll employment rose 142,000 jobs in August compared to economist estimates for an increase of 160,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate ticked down slightly from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent but there was a net downward revision of 86,000 jobs to payroll gains in the prior two months.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.6 percent to reach its lowest closing level in almost a month, while the S&P 500 plummeted 1.7 percent and the Dow dropped 1 percent.

European stocks fell for a fifth straight session on Friday in their worst day since early August.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 1.1 percent. The German DAX lost 1.5 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dipped 0.7 percent.