European shares are set to pull back Thursday, with global markets striking a cautious tone as U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers gather for a closely watched monetary policy summit.
Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen around 25 points lower at 7,125, Germany’s DAX is set to fall by around 49 points to 15,811 and France’s CAC 40 is expected to drop around 12 points to 6,664, according to IG data.
Stateside, U.S. stock futures were also fractionally lower in early premarket trade after the S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high.
The Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium kicks off Thursday. Markets will be watching Friday’s closing remarks from Chairman Jerome Powell for indications on when the central bank may start tapering its monetary stimulus program.
Back in Europe, European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Wednesday that economic impact from the spread of the delta Covid-19 variant is likely to be limited across the euro zone, which remains on course for a robust recovery through 2022.
In corporate news, Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm DWS Group is under investigation by U.S. regulators over allegations that it misrepresented its sustainable investing criteria, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
On the data front, French business climate readings are due just before the opening bell in Europe, along with GfK’s German consumer sentiment survey for September.
– CNBC