European Shares Poised For Mixed Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open on a mixed note Monday as investors ponder over the health of the U.S. and Chinese economies and await a slew of corporate results for directional cues.

Global finance ministers and central bank chiefs face a major uncertainty as they gather in Washington this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Trade policies and tariffs will be a focal point at the meetings due to uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Asian markets traded higher after China's loan prime rate announcement and ahead of Japan's general election at the end of this week, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party facing the risk of losing its majority.

China's yuan held steady as China's central bank cut two key interest rates to historic lows in the latest move by Beijing to boost sluggish spending and kickstart the world's second-largest economy.

As the week progresses, the focus will be mostly on earnings and economic data releases.

Earnings from high profile U.S. companies such as Tesla, Boeing, Verizon, GE Aerospace, Honeywell and General Motors are due this week.

On the economic front, flash PMI numbers on the U.S. manufacturing and the services sectors, durable goods orders, housing market data, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book on regional economic activity and speeches by several Fed officials may influence investor sentiment.

While higher yields and rising odds of former President Donald Trump winning the Nov. 5 election boosted the dollar, oil prices steadied after tumbling nearly 8 percent last week on worries about demand in China, the world's top oil importer.

Gold traded near record levels due to geopolitical tensions and U.S. election uncertainties.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday as economic optimism prevailed, and markets gunned for a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming presidential elections.

The Nasdaq gained 0.6 percent after streaming giant Netflix topped Wall Street estimates for subscriber additions.

The Dow finished marginally higher and the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to reach new record closing highs and seal six straight week of gains despite weak housing data.

European stocks ended broadly higher on Friday to post second straight week of gains as an ECB survey showed inflation could return to the central bank's target sooner than earlier thought.

The pan-European STOXX 600 inched up 0.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose about 0.4 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 percent.