BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks may open on a mixed note Wednesday, with a continued spike in Covid-19 infections in the United States as well as rising tensions between Washington and Beijing likely to keep underlying sentiment cautious.
The United States may soon record as many as 100,000 new cases of Covid-19 a day if the current trajectory of the outbreak is not changed, the government's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned as new U.S. Covid-19 cases rose by more than 47,000 on Tuesday.
He also said U.S. health officials are keeping an eye on a new strain of flu carried by pigs in China.
Asian markets are trading mixed and the dollar gained versus the Japanese yen after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell offered mixed views of economic recovery, but pledged to do more for the world's largest economy.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has tweeted about the spread of the coronavirus and his anger towards China.
'As I watch the Pandemic spread its ugly face all across the world, including the tremendous damage it has done to the USA, I become more and more angry at China. People can see it, and I can feel it!'
Gold hovered near an eight-year high on expectations of more central bank stimulus, while oil prices rose about 1 percent after industry data showed crude inventories in the United States fell much more than expected.
In economic releases, the manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in June, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from Caixin showed today with a manufacturing PMI core of 51.2, up from 50.7 in May.
Japanese manufacturers' confidence sank in the second quarter to a level not seen since the 2009 global financial crisis, a closely-watched survey showed.
U.K. shop prices declined for the thirteenth straight month in June but the pace of decrease slowed, data from the British Retail Consortium showed. The BRC-Nielsen shop price index declined 1.6 percent in the month.
Unemployment and retail sales data from Germany as well as house price figures from the U.K. are due later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
Across the Atlantic, trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to reports on private sector employment and manufacturing activity as well as the minutes of the latest Fed meeting.
U.S. stocks rose overnight as investors weighed better-than-estimated economic data against concerns over rising coronavirus cases and worsening U.S.-China trade relations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 percent to post its biggest quarterly gain since 1987, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.9 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 1.5 percent.
European stocks ended Tuesday's session on a mixed note after the World Health Organization warned that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still to come.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.1 percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 index slid 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.9 percent.
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