European equity markets were poised to open slightly lower on Wednesday as the recent global stock rally showed signs of losing momentum. Investors remained cautious ahead of a key US employment report and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the ECB Forum in Sintra, Portugal.
On Tuesday, European shares closed at record highs, buoyed by softer inflation data and rising expectations that the European Central Bank will leave interest rates unchanged in the near term. Market attention is now shifting to UK house price figures, flash Eurozone inflation estimates, and final PMI readings from across the region.
No major corporate earnings releases are scheduled in Europe for the day. In premarket trading, futures on both the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Stoxx 600 were down around 0.1%.