European Shares Poised For Firm Opening

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Monday as investors react to signals of a possible Fed rate cut at the next FOMC meeting and reports suggesting that the Trump administration could allow Nvidia to ship more-advanced AI chips to China.

Market participants will watch closely movements in forex and bond markets after France's National Assembly rejected part of the 2026 budget, casting doubt on its progression.

As France faces substantial difficulties with its 2026 budget, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stated in a speech in Vienna, Austria, that public debt levels in the eurozone remain high and need to decrease.

Elsewhere, the U.K. government has announced that rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years in the budget due Wednesday, aiming to help millions of commuters struggling with the cost of living.

Investors also look for signs of strength in the U.S. consumer spending as the holiday shopping season kicks off later this week with Black Friday sales.

With a dearth of economic reports, any early indications of all-important retail sales data will be closely watched.

This week will also see results from retailers, including Kohl's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Petco and Urban Outfitters.

The U.S. stock market will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will have a shortened session Friday.

Asian markets were mixed, with Japan closed for a holiday. The dollar was little changed while oil steadied after the biggest weekly loss since early October on concerns that a Ukraine-Russia peace deal could increase crude flows into an already well-supplied market.

Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials said Sunday they'd made progress toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war but provided scant details.

Gold slipped below $4,050 per ounce, extending Friday's decline, as investors await more U.S. economic data, including reports on retail sales, producer price index and weekly jobless claims for clearer signals on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.

The ifo institute will publish Germany's business sentiment survey results later in the day. The business climate index is forecast to rise to 88.6 in November from 88.4 in the previous month.

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday but were down sharply for the week amid growing worries of a potential bubble in artificial intelligence stocks.

The Dow climbed 1.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 surged 1 percent after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams described monetary policy as being "modestly restrictive" adding he sees "room for a further adjustment" to rates in the near term.

Traders also cheered data that showed improved consumer sentiment and decreasing inflation expectations.

European stocks fell broadly on Friday after the release of a batch of weak regional economic data.

The pan European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.3 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.8 percent while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both finished marginally higher.