BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely to open a tad higher on Monday as vaccination efforts and expectations that monetary policy will remain accommodative the world over help ease Coronavirus mutant fears.
The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 141.1 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 3.01 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Asian stocks were broadly higher on optimism about a rebound from the pandemic, though Indian shares slumped amid a day amid a record surge in Covid-19 cases and FII outflows from the capital market.
The dollar was pinned near one-month low against its peers amid subdued U.S. yields and growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia over jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Gold held firm near seven-week high on dollar weakness, while oil dropped amid surging caseloads of coronavirus infections in India and other countries.
Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, recouped most of its losses after tumbling the most since February over the weekend as Turkey's central bank banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets to purchase goods and services.
Dozens of U.S. companies will unveil their quarterly results this week, including Coca-Cola, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Intel, American Express and Honeywell.
The European Central Bank (ECB) meets on Thursday with no changes to rates or guidance expected.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday as strong earnings and encouraging housing and consumer sentiment data added to optimism about a global economic recovery.
The Dow rose half a percent and the S&P 500 inched up 0.4 percent to set new record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index edged up marginally.
European stocks hit fresh record highs on Friday, thanks to fairly upbeat data from China, the U.S. and Europe.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.9 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.3 percent, France's CAC 40 index gained 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced half a percent.
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