BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are seen opening slightly higher on Wednesday as bond yields stabilized after a spike overnight and a federal judge ruled against breaking up Google, fueling optimism that tech giants will be able to weather regulatory threats.
A U.S. judge on Tuesday ordered that Google will not have to sell its Chrome web browser but must hand over its search results and some information to rival companies.
The case primarily focused on Google's expensive distribution agreements with Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone manufacturers that established Google as the default search engine on iPhones and other devices.
In economic releases, Eurozone producer price data, composite and service PMIs, and ECB President Lagarde's speech may garner some attention later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, reports on factory orders and job openings along with the Federal Reserve's Beige Book will be in the spotlight ahead of the August jobs report due Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to start interviews on Friday to determine the next Federal Reserve chair.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said his administration would ask the Supreme Court 'for an expedited ruling,' warning that 'if you took away tariffs, we could end up being a third-world country'.
Asian markets were mostly lower as a global bond sell-off rippled through the region. The dollar extended gains for a second consecutive session while gold was little changed after closing at a record high on Tuesday.
Oil prices slipped after settling up more than 1 percent a barrel on Tuesday as the U.S. imposed sanctions targeting Iran's oil revenue stream and expectations mounted that an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would disrupt supply.
The upcoming OPEC+ meeting on Sunday remains on investors' radar, with analysts expecting the group will not unwind remaining voluntary cuts.
Overnight, Wall Street kicked off September on a sour note due to rising pressure from the bond market and weak data, with U.S. factory activity contracting in August for a sixth straight month, impacted by import tariffs.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.27 percent from 4.23 percent and the 30-year yield climbed back toward 5 percent as President Trump's bid to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook raised alarms over central bank independence and a court ruling challenged Trump-era tariffs.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 0.8 percent lower, after having slumped nearly 1.5 percent earlier. The S&P 500 declined 0.7 percent and the Dow dipped 0.6 percent.
European stocks fell by the most in a month on Tuesday as long-dated European bond yields hit multiyear highs and data showed annual Eurozone inflation ticked up to 2.1 percent last month.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.5 percent. The German DAX plummeted 2.3 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.9 percent.
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