BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely open largely unchanged on Monday as optimism prevails over Sino-U.S. trade talks.
A planned speech by U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence in which he was expected to criticize China's human rights record has been postponed, helping increase optimism on upcoming talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan this week.
Geopolitical tensions also remain in focus, with the U.S. planning to impose major new sanctions on Iran as early as today.
Asian stocks edged up in cautious trade after Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said talks are underway between China and U.S. teams regarding trade negotiations. He reiterated Beijing's stance on mutual respect and urged U.S. to make concessions for compromises.
The euro hit a three-month high against the dollar on Fed rate cut bets while oil prices held firm near three-week highs hit last week amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions.
On the data front, U.K. consumer spending is forecast to grow at the slowest pace in six years, the latest EY ITEM Club special report on consumer spending revealed earlier today. Nonetheless, spending is seen continuing to outperform the economy as a whole.
Germany's Ifo business sentiment survey results are due later in the session. Economists expect the business confidence index to fall to 97.5 in June from 97.9 in May.
U.S. stocks ended modestly lower on Friday after the Commerce Department barred five additional Chinese companies from buying U.S. components without approval.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slid around 0.1 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.2 percent.
European markets ended Friday's session lower amid intensifying fears of a military confrontation in the Middle East.
The pan European Stoxx 600 eased 0.4 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both edged down by 0.1 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dipped 0.2 percent.
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