BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are seen opening flat to slightly higher on Wednesday as investors watch the latest developments surrounding the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and await key U.S. CPI data due later in the day for additional clues on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate outlook.
The February personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, will be published on Thursday, but the data is unlikely to affect the Fed's decision at its policy meeting next week.
The European economic calendar remains light, with final inflation data from Germany likely to garner some attention later in the session.
U.S. equity futures ticked higher after major Wall Street indexes ended little changed overnight.
Oracle shares jumped 10 percent after the U.S. closing bell on Tuesday as the enterprise and cloud-computing giant Oracle Corporation reported fiscal Q3 results ahead of expectations.
On the geopolitical front, Israel said it is not seeking an endless war with Iran and will coordinate with the United States on when to end the fighting.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X that Iran was 'definitely not looking for a ceasefire'.
Asian markets were broadly higher this morning and gold extended the recovery from the $5,000 area while the dollar dipped on improved risk sentiment in financial markets.
Oil extended losses after plunging more than 11 percent in the overnight New York session following reports that the International Energy Agency was planning its largest ever emergency oil reserve release to counter increased disruptions in oil markets.
Overnight, U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending narrowly mixed as investors reacted to rapidly changing developments surrounding the war with Iran.
After signaling that the Iran war could be over 'very soon' President Trump later claimed that Iran would be hit 'twenty times harder' if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz.
'We will eliminate easy-to-destroy targets that would make the reconstruction of Iran as a country nearly impossible. Death, fire, and fury will reign over them. But I hope and pray that this does not happen,' Trump said.
Without providing a timeline as to when the war would end, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth asserted that Iran is 'badly losing'.
The Dow slipped 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 dipped 0.2 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally higher.
European stocks rebounded from three-month lows on Tuesday as oil prices pulled back sharply, helping ease inflation and interest-rate concerns.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rallied 1.9 percent. The German DAX surged 2.4 percent, France's CAC 40 jumped 1.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.6 percent.
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