BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks may open on a cautious note Wednesday despite the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs overnight.
Investors are likely to closely monitor the latest quarterly figures from Associated British Foods, Volvo Group, STMicroelectronics, Novartis, Akzo Nobel, SAP and Credit Suisse.
Asian stocks remain broadly lower despite China's central bank extending 267.4 billion yuan ($39.8 billion) to some commercial banks to support liquidity in the banking system.
Beijing is expected to refrain from stronger measures, such as lowering the country's benchmark lending rates, after a meeting of the Communist Party's highest decision-making body signaled a tougher stance on further policy easing.
Investors also remained focused on U.S.-China trade talks. According to U.S. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will head to Beijing next week for talks that start on April 30.
Following those talks, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will lead a delegation to Washington for further discussions that begin on May 8.
Gold prices fell on dollar strength as strong U.S. housing data further eased concerns of a slowdown in the world's largest economy.
Oil prices inched lower after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a statement that markets are 'adequately supplied' and that 'global spare production capacity remains at 'comfortable levels.'
U.S. stocks advanced overnight as investors cheered positive housing data as well as upbeat earnings news from a number of big-name companies, including United Technologies, Twitter and Coca-Cola.
The Dow gained 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.3 percent to end at record closing highs.
After the U.S. closing bell, EBay Inc raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts, while Texas Instruments issued a cautious outlook for the second quarter.
AT&T, Boeing and Caterpillar are among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading session later today.
European markets recovered from an early slide to finish mostly higher on Tuesday as a surge in oil prices boosted energy stocks.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 percent. The German DAX inched up 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 index gained 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.9 percent.
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