European Shares Poised For Soft Opening As US-China Tensions Rise

European stocks are likely to open lower on Monday amid concerns about higher interest rates and heightened U.S.-China tensions fueled by an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the U.S.

Beijing said it “is paying close attention to the development of the situation” and “reserves the right to make further necessary reactions”.

The United States called off a planned visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The dollar index traded higher, and U.S. 10-year yields inched up on speculation that economic conditions will remain too firm for the Fed to cut rates in 2023.

Gold and oil prices were seeing modest gains in Asian trading after seeing significant losses on Friday.

Asian markets traded mostly lower, with Chinese and Hong Kong stocks leading regional losses.

Japanese shares rose as the yen slumped on a Nikkei report that Masayoshi Amamiya was approached by the government for the role of Bank of Japan Governor.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday and bond yields climbed as a blockbuster jobs report revived worries about the interest-rate outlook.

Non-farm payroll employment soared by 517,000 jobs in January while economists had expected an increase of 185,000 jobs. The jobless rate slipped to a multi-decade low of 3.4 percent from 3.5 percent.

Meanwhile, earnings from mega tech companies showing softening sales growth offset upbeat service sector data.

The Dow eased 0.4 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.6 percent after posting strong gains during the previous three straight sessions.

European stocks ended Friday’s session broadly higher, led by gains in healthcare and energy stocks.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent. The German DAX slid 0.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 1 percent.

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