European stock markets are expected to open lower on Monday as investors take a cautious approach ahead of the earnings season for big tech companies and important economic data releases from the Eurozone. The DAX futures contract in Germany is down by 0.3%, CAC 40 futures in France dropped 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the UK fell 0.3% at 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT).
The earnings season for tech giants such as Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms is in full swing this week. Investors will closely watch these reports to see if the strong gains in the tech sector so far this year are justified. Additionally, big European banks such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, Santander, and Barclays are also set to report earnings this week.
On the economic data front, the Eurozone is set to release advance data on the first quarter GDP on Friday, while inflation reports from Germany, France, and Spain are also due the same day. The European Central Bank is expected to increase interest rates again in early May, with most analysts anticipating a 25-basis point hike, although a larger increase has not been ruled out.
In addition, oil prices slumped on Monday, trading close to a five-week low on concerns that rising interest rates will result in slowing economic growth, particularly in the US economy, which is the largest consumer of crude in the world. By 02:00 ET, US crude futures traded 1.4% lower at $76.78 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 1.3% to $80.37. Meanwhile, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,989.55/oz, and EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0977.
