The European markets are poised for a lower open on Wednesday, as investors keep away from risky assets such as equities amid the continuing concerns about the debt crisis, before central banks take some decisive action.
The DAX futures are losing 19 points, the CAC 40 futures are falling 14.50 points and the Euro Stoxx 50 futures are sliding 8 points. The Swiss Market Index futures are slipping 15 points and the FTSE 100 futures are losing 6.50 points.
The European markets closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by better-than-expected growth data from Germany and France. The DAX rose about 1 percent and the CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent. The FTSE 100 index and the Swiss Market index rose 0.6 percent each.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks, as well as the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, gained around 0.7 percent each. Many markets in the region are closed today for the Assumption Day.
On the corporate front, Standard Chartered has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $340 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services in settlement of the regulator's charges related to the lender's dealings with Iran.
Swiss cement giant Holcim Ltd reported higher profit for the first half of the year, helped by strong performance in the emerging markets and North America, amid rising cement volumes and better prices.
Carlsberg said its second-quarter profit attributable to shareholders grew to 3.36 billion kroner from 2.06 billion kroner last year. Net revenue improved to 19.59 billion kroner from 18.74 billion kroner.
Balfour Beatty said profit increased to 83 million pounds in the first half of the year from 69 million pounds in the year ago period. Revenue, including share of joint ventures and associates, for the period rose to 5.54 billion pounds from 5.22 billion pounds in the year ago period.
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. Plc reported a sharp decline in first-half profit as revenues were hurt by a decline in commodity prices and a challenging economic environment.
Jobless claims from the U.K. and minutes of Bank of England's latest meeting are expected today, which may influence trading.
Worries about China's growth and fading hopes about stimulus hurt markets across Asia/Pacific. Australia's All Ordinaries is losing 0.24 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index is falling 0.76 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is losing 0.90 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 is retreating 0.6 percent. The Indian market is closed for a national holiday.
The U.S. futures indicate a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages ended the session mixed for the fourth time in the past five sessions. While the Dow crept up 0.02 percent, the Nasdaq fell 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 edged down 0.01 percent.
Among commodities, crude for September delivery is losing $0.17 to $93.26 per barrel while December gold is adding $1.8 to $1604.2 a troy ounce.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.