European stocks are seen opening lower on Friday, as the Fed's inaction failed to remove uncertainty as to the timetable to unwind QE3. Some encouraging U.S. data on existing home sales, regional manufacturing activity and the Conference Board's leading economic indicators strengthened expectations that the Fed would likely start pulling back stimulus sometime in October-December.
Looking ahead, investors await euro-zone consumer confidence data and speeches by several Fed officials later in the global day for fresh clues on the pace of global growth and the interest rate outlook.
The euro is holding steady after hitting a 7 1/2-month high yesterday. Investors wait for the outcome of the German election on Sunday, with opinion polls predicting Chancellor Angela Merkel's victory for the third term in office.
The Asian markets are drifting lower in thin trading amid holidays in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. Investors are ponding the Fed's next policy moves after Chairman Ben Bernanke provided very little additional information about when he would taper stimulus.
Japan's Nikkei index is edging down 0.3 percent as the greenback rebounded against the yen. Australia's All Ordinaries index is down 0.4 percent from a five-year high, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index is losing 1.3 percent and New Zealand's NZX-50 is down half a percent.
India's Sensex is tumbling 2.7 percent after the RBI unexpectedly increased its policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent, but reduced the Marginal Standing Facility - the rate at which banks access funds for emergency needs - by 75 basis points to 9.5 percent.
In domestic corporate news, German utility RWE said it would reduce dividend payments in light of the deterioration in the earnings prospects of its conventional electricity generation business.
Sportswear maker Adidas AG said that it now expects a low-single-digit currency-neutral sales increase for fiscal 2013 versus low-to mid-single digit increase for the full year announced previously.
Franco-Belgian lender Dexia SA has decided to enter into exclusive talks with a unit of life insurer New York Life Insurance Co. for the sale of its asset management unit, Dexia Asset Management.
European stocks posted solid gains on Thursday as investors got their first chance to react to the Federal Reserve's surprise decision the previous day to keep its multibillion-dollar stimulus program intact. The German DAX rose 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added a percent.
U.S. stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance overnight as investors paused for breath following the previous session's Fed-inspired rally. Traders also digested a slew of economic reports painting a positive picture of the economy. The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.2 percent, but the Dow dipped 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent.
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Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.