European stocks are set to open on a mixed note Tuesday, with U.K. markets seen falling as traders return to their desks after a long holiday weekend.
Asian stocks were mixed even as a slew of surveys signaled an ongoing expansion in regional manufacturing activity, thanks to recovery in global demand.
China’s Caixin PMI Manufacturing rose to 52.0 in May, up from 51.9 and above expectations for a score of 51.7.
South Korean shares led regional gains after data showed the country’s exports logged their sharpest expansion in 32 years in May.
On the COVID-19 front, India’s decision to ban vaccine exports has had a severe impact on 91 nations and several of them remain extremely susceptible to new strains of COVID, first discovered in India, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
An expert group convened by WHO has renamed COVID-19 variants with Greek letters to avoid stigma; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta.
Gold prices rose to a near five-month high on dollar weakness. The offshore Chinese yuan held steady after retreating from a three-year high of 6.3526 per dollar reached on Monday, as China forced banks to keep more foreign currencies in reserve for the first time in over a decade.
Oil prices surged ahead of the latest OPEC meeting, while the British pound hit a three-year high against the dollar amid bets the U.K.’s economic recovery is gaining traction with the rollout of coronavirus vaccines.
Treasury yields ticked higher as investors await key American jobs data due out later this week in the face of uncertainty around the interplay between much-feared inflation and much hoped-for growth recovery.
Unemployment from Germany and final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ survey results from major euro area economies are due later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
European stocks fell on Monday as investors reacted to signs of rising inflation in Germany as well as soft data from China and Japan.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped half a percent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 index both shed around 0.6 percent.
Markets in the U.K. and U.S. were closed for Bank Holiday and Memorial Day, respectively.
