BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Wednesday as investors await a Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day for signals on the state of the world's largest economy amid a recent upturn in jobs numbers.
With some economists talking about the possibility of a quick V-shaped recovery, negative interest rates are probably a last resort for the Fed to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The OECD will release its latest outlook on the global economy later today, while the euro area finance ministers will meet Thursday to discuss the EU's recovery package and Eurogroup presidency succession.
Asian markets are trading mixed and gold held firm while oil prices fell over 1 percent after industry data showed a rise in crude and fuel inventories in the United States.
Industrial production data from France is due later in the day, headlining a light day for the European economic news.
U.S. stocks fell broadly overnight on concerns that markets may have run too far too soon despite nationwide protests and lingering coronavirus risks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.8 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.3 percent.
European markets plunged on Tuesday as investors reacted to gloomy Eurozone GDP data and the World Bank's warning about a sharp economic contraction.
The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 1.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both lost about 1.6 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 tumbled 2.1 percent.
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