European stock futures edge lower; caution ahead of central bank meetings

Investing.com - European stock markets are expected to open marginally higher Monday, as investors braced for a week packed with central bank meetings, including from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

At 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.1% lower, CAC 40 futures in France dropped 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. traded largley unchanged.

ECB officials in spotlight

European stocks ended last week on a positive note, as investors took comfort from signs that the European Central Bank is nearly done raising interest rates.

The ECB lifted interest rates again on Thursday to a record high of 4%, but the accompanying press release hinted that the hike was likely to be its last with the eurozone economy struggling.

ECB policy makers ECB's Luis de Guindos, Frank Elderson and Fabio Panetta are scheduled to speak Monday, and their comments will be studied for the extent of the dissent from the more hawkish members of the group over the indications of an end to the year-long rate-hiking cycle.

Federal Reserve leads central banks parade

This week sees a number of major central banks hold policy-setting meetings, including the Bank of England on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.

However, the highlight will be Wednesday’s Federal Reserve gathering, at which the U.S. central bank is widely expected to announce a pause to its series of interest rate increases.

That said, with U.S. consumer inflation rising by 0.6% on a monthly basis last month, the largest gain since June 2022, driven by higher gasoline prices, the Fed is likely to retain its hawkish outlook and likely signal higher-for-longer rates.

Chipmakers face demand woes

Back in Europe, the tech sector is likely to be in focus after a Reuters report said that Taiwan’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, had asked its suppliers to delay deliveries amid concerns over slowing demand.

Shares of major Asian chipmaking firms sank on Monday, with this warning adding to ongoing concerns over surging interest rates and slowing investment in technology infrastructure.

Crude extends rally ahead of central bank meetings

Oil prices headed higher Monday, continuing to rally on the back of expectations of a tighter market ahead of a series of central bank policy-setting meetings this week.

The crude benchmarks have risen over 30% over the past three months following supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia, which could push the market into a substantial deficit in the fourth quarter.

Traders will be watching decisions and commentary by central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, this week on interest rate policies, and key economic data out of China.

By 02:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.9% higher at $90.83 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.8% to $94.71.

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,950.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.0673.

This article first appeared in Investing.com