FX.co ★ European Stocks Head for Higher Open

European equity markets were set to open higher on Monday, as weaker US economic data eased expectations of an imminent interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, bolstering global risk appetite. Investors also appeared to look past escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Israel launched new strikes on Lebanon and US President Donald Trump moved to impose additional sanctions on Iran.

In Europe, Monday’s calendar is light, with no major economic data or corporate earnings releases scheduled. Market participants will instead look ahead to the European Central Bank’s latest Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts later in the week, following the ECB’s decision in July to leave key interest rates unchanged. Other important indicators due in the coming days include the Eurozone and German ZEW economic sentiment surveys, as well as Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) readings from across the region.

In pre-market trading, futures on both the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Stoxx 600 were up by roughly 0.3%.