European stock markets fell on Monday, with investors wary at the start of the week including the release of key US inflation data and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
At 3:45 AM ET (0845 GMT), the DAX in Germany was trading 0.5% lower, the CAC 40 in France was down 0.5% and the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%.
Global stock markets will focus exclusively on the latest US inflation data this week, with strong numbers likely underpinning an early interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
On Wednesday, consumer price inflation data is expected to show headline CPI surpassing 7% year-on-year, approaching a four-decade high, while inflationary producer price data The next day's release is also expected to move higher.
In addition, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify Tuesday before a Senate panel at his nomination hearing and his comments will be thoroughly analyzed for clues about what to expect. central bank intentions.
The Fed is expected to raise rates ahead of the Eurozone, with influential investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) now seeing the US central bank raise rates four times. in this year. Even so, eurozone annual inflation hit 5.0% last week, a new record high, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to tighten monetary policy. own bad.
UBS (SIX: UBSG) President Axel Weber said at a conference earlier Monday that inflation is at a "fixed high" level in the United States and could continue to surprise upside in the US. major regions such as Europe and the UK.
This is happening amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus during the holiday period, with health care systems in many European countries virtually curtailed.
In corporate news, the banking sector is likely to be the focus this week, with fourth-quarter results from several major US banks, including JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE) : C ) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), kicking off earnings season on Friday.
