European stocks are seen opening lower on Tuesday, as the German Constitutional Court starts the two-day hearing over the legalities of the ECB's program to buy the bonds of troubled economies. If the bond-buying program had to be withdrawn, it would have significant consequences for the future of the euro, the German daily Bild quoted ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen as saying.
Meanwhile, speaking on German television, ECB President Mario Draghi stressed that the central bank would not use its bond-buying program to save a country from insolvency, but to preserve the common currency.
Asian stocks are retreating and the yen is gaining ground against most of its major peers after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady and refrained from announcing fresh measures to curb bond market volatility.
Japan's Nikkei index is losing a percent and the markets in Hong Kong, India, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are down between 0.6 percent and 1.4 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries index rose 0.4 percent as the market reopened following a three-day holiday weekend. The Chinese market remains closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
In economic releases, British house prices rose in May to their highest in more than three years, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reported. Its house price balance increased to 5 in May from 1 in April, suggesting that government's policies to revive the property market have started to pay off.
U.K. industrial output data is scheduled to be released later in the session, with economists expecting output to remain flat in April from the previous month after rising 0.7 percent in March.
In corporate news, German automaker Daimler and specialty chemicals manufacturer Evonik Industries AG are mooting the sale of their joint venture Li-Tec Battery GmbH, media reports suggest.
Dassault Systemes SA announced the launch of "Target Zero Defect," an industry solution experience providing an integrated and open collaborative environment to enable zero defects across the entire product development process.
European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with resource stocks falling notably, as investors digested downbeat Chinese data and mixed signals about the Eurozone economy. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, but the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 both edged down by 0.2 percent.
U.S. stocks ended Monday's session little changed, as investors took a breather following Friday's sharp rally amid lackluster economic data out of China and on improved sentiment towards the U.S. economy after Standard & Poor's upgraded its U.S. credit outlook to "stable" from "negative", saying the chances of a downgrade of the country's rating within the next two years is "less than one in three." The Dow and the S&P 500 edged down marginally, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.1 percent.
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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.