{"id":9237,"date":"2021-04-28T05:42:26","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T05:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/04\/28\/european-shares-set-for-firmer-start\/"},"modified":"2021-04-28T05:42:26","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T05:42:26","slug":"european-shares-set-for-firmer-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/04\/28\/european-shares-set-for-firmer-start\/","title":{"rendered":"European Shares Set For Firmer Start"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European stocks look set to open on a positive note Wednesday as investors keep a wary eye on the Covid-19 surge in several countries and await the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision due later in the day. <\/p>\n

The Fed is widely expected to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy, but traders will be paying close attention to any changes to the accompanying statement that may signal a shift in the near future.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that a variant of Covid-19 feared to be contributing to a surge in coronavirus<\/span> cases in India has been found in over a dozen countries. <\/p>\n

Separately, White House chief medical adviser and America’s top pandemic expert Dr Anthony Fauci told reporters during a conference call on Tuesday that Covaxin, India’s home-grown Covid-19 vaccine, has been found to neutralize the 617 variants of the deadly virus.<\/p>\n

Asian markets<\/span> rose broadly, though the upside remained capped as investors awaited earnings from heavyweights Apple Inc, Facebook and Amazon due this week.<\/p>\n

Microsoft shares fell in after-hours trading despite the company topping earnings forecasts and meeting analyst expectations for its quarterly sales.<\/p>\n

Shares of Google parent Alphabet rose in extending trading as the company reported record profit for the second consecutive quarter and announced a $50 billion share buyback.<\/p>\n

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices smashed Wall Street’s estimates for the first quarter and guided higher for the current quarter.<\/p>\n

Gold hovered near one-week low as the dollar rose against its rivals amid firmer U.S. Treasury yields. <\/p>\n

Oil prices were little changed as traders reacted to API data showing a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude stocks and the decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to gradually increase oil output.<\/p>\n

Consumer confidence survey results from Germany and France are due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.<\/p>\n

The German GfK confidence index is forecast to rise to -3.5 in May from -6.2 in April. Economists expect France’s sentiment indicator to drop marginally to 93 in April from 94 in March.<\/p>\n

U.S. stocks ended flat to slightly lower overnight as Treasury yields climbed and Tesla’s results failed to impress investors. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended nearly flat while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3 percent.<\/p>\n

European stocks edged lower on Tuesday even as travel stocks rallied on hopes of a post-Covid rebound. <\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended little changed with a negative bias. The German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dipped around 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 index finished marginally lower. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n