By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets are seen opening largely higher Tuesday, helped by signs of progress in Washington over another U.S. stimulus bill as Covid cases rise globally, but with weak results from oil giant BP (NYSE:BP) weighing on the U.K. market.
At 2:20 AM ET (0620 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher, the CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.4%, while the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. fell 0.1%,
The markets are looking to the U.S. Congress for lawmakers to overcome the current stalemate and agree to another round of stimulus to help boost the American economy, the world’s largest.
"We're making some progress on certain issues, moving closer together," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after Monday's talks. "There are a lot of issues that are still outstanding. But I think there is a desire to get something done as soon as we can."
A key sticking point remains what to do about the $600-per-week enhanced unemployment benefit, which expired on Friday.
This comes as the World Health Organization warned on Monday that the road to normality from the Covid-19 virus would be long, and there might never be a "silver bullet” in the form of a perfect vaccine.
More than 18.28 million people around the world are reported to have been infected with the disease and over 693,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with some nations that thought they were over the worst experiencing a resurgence.
Turning back to Europe, the economic data slate is largely empty of substance Tuesday but the earnings season continues.
In the spotlight, will be BP (LON:BP), with the oil major cutting its dividend in half after reporting a $16.8 billion loss for the second quarter, after taking a charge of $10.9 billion, mostly for writing down the value of various projects after the steep fall in oil prices.
Elsewhere, German drugs and pesticides group Bayer (DE:BAYGN) reported a 9.5 billion euro ($11.2 billion) net loss for the second quarter, following a $10.9 billion settlement of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup caused cancer.
Oil prices weakened Tuesday, with concerns about fuel demand growth as Covid-19 cases increase across the globe as the major crude producers move to increase supply weighing. This has overshadowed Monday’s strong manufacturing data from the U.S., the world’s largest consumer.
OPEC+, a grouping of OPEC and allies including Russia, is set to step up output in August, adding about 1.5 million barrels per day to global supply.
Investors are now looking towards the American Petroleum Institute crude oil data to be released later Tuesday for further direction.
U.S. crude futures traded 0.7% lower at $40.73 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.7% to $43.83.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,980.10/oz, reaching a record high for a second consecutive day, while EUR/USD traded at 1.1772, up 0.1%.