By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets are set to open largely unchanged Monday, as traders consolidate recent gains amid a lack of direction caused by a U.S. holiday. Eyes will be on Davos as the world’s economic leaders gather to discuss the global economy at the World Economic Forum.
At 02:35 ET (0735 GMT), the DAX futures contract traded 9 points, or 0.1% lower. France's CAC 40 futures were up 54 points, or 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 3 points, or 0.1%. Futures on the pan-eurozone index, the Euro Stoxx 50, fell 6 points, or 0.2%.
Wall Street ended once more in a buoyant mood Friday, with the S&P rounding off the week with another record close. The S&P 500 added 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.
The U.S. equity markets are closed Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, and this is likely to limit activity in Europe.
That said, the great and the good gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the International Monetary Fund is set to present new forecasts for the global economy.
On Friday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the interim trade deal between Washington and Beijing will reduce - but not eliminate - uncertainty that has acted as a drag on global growth.
The organization had previously estimated that global trade tensions would shave 0.8% off international economic growth.
In corporate news, Nokia (HE:NOKIA) could be in focus Monday after a Finnish newspaper reported over the weekend that the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority has started an investigation into the telecommunications giant’s profit warning in October.
On Oct. 24, Nokia (HE:Nokia) slashed its 2019 and 2020 profit outlook and halted dividend pay-outs. Shares in the company dropped by more than 20% at the time.
French telecoms and media group Iliad (PA:ILD) formally launched on Monday its previously announced plan for a 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) capital increase, which will be used to finance a share buyback offer.
Elsewhere, the price of oil pushed to its highest levels in more than a week higher amid intensifying tensions in the Middle East, raising output and exports concerns.
On Sunday, Iraq halted output at an oilfield as widespread unrest escalated. Meanwhile, in Libya, in the latest development in a long-running conflict, two large crude production bases began shutting down amid a military blockade.
At 2:35 AM ET (07:35 GMT), U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% at $59.14 and the international benchmark Brent contract rose 1.1% to $65.53. Gold futures for February delivery on New York’s COMEX was up 0.1% at $1,561.95.