European markets are projected to open generally lower on Tuesday. This is while investors wait for U.S. CPI data later in the day, and forthcoming British inflation data and Eurozone GDP numbers on Wednesday.
The U.S. Labour Department is set to release a highly-anticipated consumer price inflation report for January. Economists project a drop in U.S. inflation to 2.9% year-on-year from December's 3.4%. The expectation is also for a reduction in annual core CPI inflation from 3.9% to 3.7%.
Other key economic updates from the U.S. slated for later this week include updates on retail sales, production, import/export figures, housing starts, and producer prices.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on unemployment figures from the U.K. and France expected later today. Asian markets showed mixed activity, with Japan and South Korea trending upwards after a long holiday break.
Japan's Nikkei experienced a significant jump of over 2% to reach a 34-year high due to the dollar nearing the key level of 150 yen. Gold remains relatively stable after declining in the recent U.S. overnight trading session.
Oil managed to maintain minimal gains following flat performance on Monday, owing to concerns over demand and questions on potential U.S. interest-rate cuts.
U.S. stocks demonstrated mixed performance as vital inflation data is expected. A survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that consumer expectations for inflation growth over one year and five-year terms in January remained constant at 3% and 2.5% respectively.
The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite experienced a minor decrease of 0.3%, while the S&P 500 remained mostly unchanged with a slight downward trend. In contrast, the Dow grew slightly by 0.3% to achieve a record closing high.
European stocks had a positive performance on Monday, underpinned by ECB official Fabio Panetta's statement that the time for interest rate cuts is nearing. The pan-European STOXX 600 improved by half a percent. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 rose 0.7% and 0.6% respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 made marginal gains.
