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European stocks may drift lower on Monday as weak Chinese data revived worries about slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy<\/span>. <\/p>\n Business activity in the country deteriorated further in July, with manufacturing activity contracting for a fourth straight month and services sector showing weakness. <\/p>\n Asian markets<\/span>, however, traded mostly higher after China’s State Council outlined more measures to expand domestic consumption. <\/p>\n Japan’s Nikkei index was up about 1 percent and the yen declined after the Bank of Japan announced a special open market operation to help stem a spike in yields.<\/p>\n The U.S. dollar headed for a monthly loss amid rising hopes of a soft landing for the U.S. economy.<\/p>\n The inflation outlook is “quite positive”, and the base case scenario seems to be that we would avoid a recession, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on CBS’s Face the Nation.<\/p>\n Gold and oil prices were seeing modest losses ahead of a busy week on the economic front, with global PMI data and the U.S. jobs report for July in focus. <\/p>\n The flash estimate for July euro area inflation and the eurozone preliminary flash estimate for second-quarter gross domestic product will be out later in the day.<\/p>\n The Bank of England’s interest-rate decision is due on Thursday, with a 25-bps rate hike expected. <\/p>\n U.S. stocks rose on Friday and ended the week with gains, as top tech firms reported encouraging earnings results and the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge slowed to a two-year low in June, easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.<\/p>\n The Dow edged up half a percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.9 percent.<\/p>\n European stocks ended Friday’s session mostly higher after struggling for direction earlier in the day.<\/p>\n The pan European STOXX 600 slipped 0.2 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n