FX.co ★ European Shares Seen Opening Up As Traders Look To Fed Meeting

European stock markets are expected to start the week positively, though overall progress could be limited as traders anticipate the results of the Federal Reserve's crucial policy meeting from April 30 to May 1. This meeting, along with the release of the monthly American jobs report and updates on the manufacturing and services sectors, could provide further insights into the economy and potential rate changes.

Asian stocks were mostly on the rise, albeit with little trading due to Japan's market holiday. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was slightly weaker, with the yen briefly reaching ¥160 against the dollar because of diminished hopes for imminent rate hikes from the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Despite the yen's recent significant depreciation, BOJ head Kazuo Ueda downplayed its immediate effect on prices last Friday, labelling it as minimal.

Chinese and Hong Kong stocks were higher, even in light of a reported drop in China's industrial profits for March. Conversely, oil and gold prices fell as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commenced talks in Riyadh regarding a potential Israel-Hamas ceasefire and a hostage deal.

Destatis is due to release preliminary inflation figures for Germany for April later in the day. Predictions suggest consumer price inflation will rise to 2.3 percent from 2.2 percent in March. The European Commission will also present economic sentiment survey data for April, with expectations of the euro area's economic sentiment index rising to 96.9 from 96.3 in March.

American stock markets experienced significant growth on Friday, attributed to exceptional earnings reports from tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft, as well as reassuring inflation data that didn't bring any major shocks. Information indicated that inflation, as per the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, remained consistent at 0.3 percent in March, matching expectations. Annually, the index increased by 2.7 percent, surpassing the estimate of 2.6 percent. Meanwhile, the core PCE index was reported at 2.8 percent, versus an expectation of 2.7 percent.

Technology-centric NASDAQ saw a robust 2 percent leap, S&P 500 rose by 1 percent, and the Dow inched higher by 0.4 percent. Similarly, European stocks ended positively on Friday after a downward trend in the previous session. The pan European STOXX 600 saw a rally of 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX surged by 1.4 percent, France's CAC 40 rose by 0.9 percent, and the UK's FTSE 100 saw a 0.8 percent increase.