European stocks rise slightly as U.S. inflation data awaited important U.S. inflation data and new quarterly Eurozone growth projections. Markets evaluated the possibility of more monetary policy hardening, which restrained Monday’s rise in European stock markets.

The CAC 40 in France jumped 0.4%, the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom. Increased 0.2%, and the DAX index in Germany traded 0.2 percent higher at 03:40 ET (08:40 GMT).

As they wait for the publication of Tuesday’s extremely critical U.S. consumer inflation statistics. Markets have been cautiously beginning the new week.  Even, though the annual number is predicted to reflect additional cooling in inflation in January. It is still expected to remain reasonably high.

European stocks look to US CPI

Back in Europe, the European Commission is scheduled to present the euro area’s quarterly economic estimates on Wednesday.

In the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Europe’s economy has proven more robust than anticipated; Tuesday’s adjusted Eurozone GDP is anticipated to reflect quarterly growth of 0.1% in the 4th quarter of 2022.

European stock markets eye ECB

Due to this, the European Central Bank may be able to raise interest rates further to combat inflation, as ECB board member Isabel Schnabel suggested late last week.

Even though the overall price rise has been decreasing quickly, she stated on Friday that the ECB must continue significantly to hike interest rates because widespread disinflation has yet to begin.

Castellum’s (ST: CAST) stock dropped 4.4% in the corporate sector after the Swedish real estate firm suggested a SEK 10 billion ($1 = SEK 10.4563) rights issuance to bolster its financial statement.

Economic Activity Schedule

Asian stocks are volatile, and the dollar is strong ahead of the data.

As markets braced themselves for U.S. inflation figures that may shake up the view for interest rates internationally and accelerate or reverse the current jump in bond yields, Asian markets fell and the US dollar gained on Monday.

The fourth airborne device to be taken down this month by the American US military occurred close to the Canadian border, adding to the sense of geopolitical intrigue.

If it matched the sizable white Chinese balloon that was shot down earlier in the month was not confirmed by officials. In either case, it gave investors more reason to extrication cautious,. As, MSCI’s largest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan a down 0.7%, following a 2.2% loss the previous week.

South Korea’s Kospi sank 0.7%, and the Nikkei in Japan fell 1.0%. Chinese blue chips increased to 0.6%, helped by positive bank lending data.

FTSE futures were unchanged, while EURO STOXX 50 futures were down 0.1%. Nasdaq futures declined by 0.5%, whereas S&P 500 futures fell by 0.4%.

This week’s U.S. consumer price and retail sales statistics might well affect the direction of equities in the near term, with much depending on whether inflation slowed down during January.

The US dollar, Gold and Yen

On news that the Japanese government was likely to name scholar Kazuo Ueda as the next governor of the Bank of Japan, the greenback also gained ground on the yen.

The unexpected information generated rumors that the BOJ’s ultra-lax policies might soon stop. But Ueda later stated that it was appropriate to retain the existing position. After recovering from a low of 129.80 yen on Friday, the dollar was last up over 0.6% at 132.15 yen.

Crude oil Gold and Euro

By 3:40 ET, US crude had decreased 1% to $78.86 per barrel, while Brent had decreased 1% to $85.56.

Both contracts increased in value by more than 2% on Friday after Russia announced it will reduce supply by 500,000 barrels per day, starting in March. Russia cited export price restrictions imposed by western nations as retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

The price of gold futures also decreased to $1,873.05/oz, and the EURUSD exchange rate rose by 0.1 percent to 1.0679.

EU Expects the Economy to Improve but inflation fears persist.

The executive branch of the European Union has increased its projection for economic growth for the year, claiming that due to the sharp decline in natural gas prices, Europe will narrowly avoid a recession and has already passed its inflation peak.

However, the European Commission issued a warning on Monday, stating that the economy will continue to be held back for months due to the high costs afflicting consumers.

The 20 EU nations that use the euro should experience 0.8% growth in 2023, according to the commission’s winter economic forecast. This is higher than the 0.3% forecast in the last prediction from November.

Growth was predicted to be 0.9% for the larger 27-nation bloc, which increased from 0.3%.