European Shares Poised For Steady Open

European stocks are likely to open on a positive note Monday despite escalating Israel-Gaza tensions and reports suggesting that the U.S. is considering tightening curbs to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductors and chipmaking gear.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to “demolish Hamas” as his military got ready ground operations in Gaza to root out the militant group.

The U.S. and its allies are ratcheting up efforts to prevent the war between Israel and Hamas from engulfing the wider region.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the U.S. is considering blocking more AI chip exports to China, adding to sweeping restrictions on shipments of advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to China unveiled last October.

Asian stocks were broadly lower, with Japanese and South Korean markets leading regional losses.

Earlier today, China’s central bank injected a net 289 billion yuan ($39.54 billion) into the banking system through medium-term lending facility (MLF) operations, while keeping the policy rate steady at 2.5 percent.

Speaking over the weekend at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Morocco, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said that authorities will provide more substantial support to the real economy.

Gold fell from a one-month high in Asian trade, while oil prices were little changed after having climbed nearly 6 percent on Friday.

The dollar traded firm on safe-haven bids and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged up slightly ahead of U.S. reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and existing home sales due this week.

China GDP, retail sales and industrial production data, inflation figures from Japan and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Economic Club of New York also remain on investors’ radar.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said on Friday he believed the Fed is likely done with its tightening cycle, barring any sudden changes in data.

On the earnings front, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, Procter & Gamble, Netflix, Tesla, AT&T and American Express are among the prominent companies due to report their quarterly results this week.

U.S. stocks fell broadly on Friday as data showed a slump in consumer sentiment and a surge in inflation expectations.

Surging crude prices on fears about an escalating war in the Middle East also spooked markets.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 shed half a percent, with a decrease in Treasury yields helping limit the downside to some extent. The Dow inched up 0.1 percent after strong bank earnings.

European stocks fell notably on Friday on concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates following hawkish comments from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 1 percent. The German DAX tumbled 1.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 gave up 1.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 declined 0.6 percent.

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