The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered around the flatline in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks shedding 1.1% while basic resources gained 1.4%.
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Monday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumping more than 2% to lead gains.
The mood stateside was more tentative, with futures edging lower after the major indexes closed little changed on Friday, with investors shaking off concerns to a weaker-than-expected labor market report from the U.S.
Markets around the world whipsawed last week as investors monitored inflation expectations and U.S Treasury yields, which jumped to multi-month highs on Friday following the poor September jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department.
Meanwhile U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday voiced confidence that the U.S. Congress would green light the implementation of the global corporate minimum tax rate agreed by 136 countries.
Goldman Sachs on Sunday cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth to 5.6% in 2021 and 4% in 2022, citing a drop-off in fiscal support and a slower consumer spending recovery.
Major banks in the U.S. will kick off their third-quarter earnings this week, with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all due to report, starting Wednesday.
Back in Europe, three European Central Bank policymakers on Friday discussed the possibility of exiting pandemic-era monetary and fiscal support measures even if it makes some governments unhappy, according to reports from a panel discussion in Slovakia. The ECB is expected to make a decision on its extraordinary stimulus measures in December.
In corporate news, Italy’s FIM-CISL union said on Friday that the global semiconductor shortage would hit Stellantis’ Italian production harder and for longer than the Covid-19 pandemic. The carmaker has halted operations at some of its factories in Europe and the U.S., and expects to produce 1.4 million fewer vehicles this year.
ASOS announced Monday that CEO Nick Beighton would step down with immediate effect after the company issued a profit warning on the back of higher logistics costs and supply chain disruption. The British online fashion retailer’s shares fell more than 8% in early trade.
On the Stoxx 600, British drinks company Britvic fell 4.5% to lead losses, while Portuguese Utilities company EDP gained 2.9%.
– CNBC