By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets are seen opening lower Wednesday on worries about the damage to the region’s economies caused by a second wave of shutdowns to combat the surge in Covid-19 cases.
At 2:00 AM ET (0700 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.3% lower, CAC 40 futures in France dropped 1.4% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the UK fell 0.8%.
Europe continues to be hit hard with the second wave of the virus, with many of the region’s countries reporting soaring infection rates, not helped by the onset of cold, damp winter weather.
Restrictions imposed to try and combat the pandemic have had a limited effect to date, prompting fears of more draconian measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to give a televised address on Wednesday evening, with local media reporting that the government is considering imposing a lockdown from midnight on Thursday.
Similarly, the Belgian government will convene on Friday to decide on a potential new national lockdown, while Spain has already announced a state of emergency for six months.
In corporate news, Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) will be in focus after the troubled bank returned to quarterly profit, helped by a strong performance from its investment banking arm.
Additionally, Reuters reported that U.S. jeweler Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) and French luxury goods giant LVMH (PA:LVMH) are in talks to settle their dispute over a $16 billion takeover at a price slightly lower than that initially agreed.
Oil prices slumped Wednesday, as a jump in U.S. crude stocks, coupled with the potential damage to demand from the incessant increase in Covid-19 cases, raised worries about a supply glut.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday showed a build of 4.577 million barrels for the week ending Oct. 23, more than the 1.2 million barrels expected, while gasoline inventories also rose. Government data are expected later Wednesday.
Oil had rallied on Tuesday, with the Brent contract climbing nearly 2% and the WTI version 2.6%, after a significant portion of U.S. Gulf output was shuttered ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Zeta, which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana later Wednesday.
U.S. crude futures traded 2.6% lower at $38.55 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 1.6% to $40.95.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,908.05/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% lower at 1.1775.