European stocks may open flat to slightly higher on Wednesday even as underlying sentiment is likely to remain cautious ahead of a busy week of political and economic events.
Britain goes to the polls on Thursday, with opinion polls suggesting a mixed picture around the likely outcome.
The European Central Bank will review its monetary policy tomorrow, but market participants do not expect any major change in its monetary policy stance.
On the political front, U.S. President Donald Trump wished former FBI director James Comey good luck as he prepares to testify at a Senate hearing Thursday in a public hearing on his interactions with President Trump and his investigation into whether Russian officials interfered with the U.S. presidential election.
Asian stocks are mostly higher despite Wall Street's decline for a second day running on Tuesday.
The Japanese yen hovered near its highest level in a month and gold held near a seven-month high, while oil prices dipped in Asian deals after the U.S. Energy Information Administration raised oil production estimates.
Meanwhile, Kuwait is trying to mediate a resumption of diplomatic and commercial ties between Qatar and powerful Arab states, which have severed ties over allegations that Doha supports extremism.
In economic releases, German factory orders figures for April and U.K. house price data are slated for release later in the session.
Overnight, U.S. stocks fell modestly amid a lack of major economic data and caution ahead of potentially market-moving events this week. The Dow slid 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped around 0.3 percent each.
European markets also finished lower on Tuesday amid a global equity market pullback. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.7 percent to close at its lowest level in nearly three weeks.
The German DAX fell 1 percent, France's CAC 40 index shed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed marginally lower.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.