European stocks are poised to start on a lackluster note Tuesday, with modest losses in Asian equities and easing commodity prices hurting sentiment.
In the absence of Wall Street cues and amid a stronger yen and declines in oil prices, most Asian stocks fell in volatile trading Tuesday, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific index down by about 0.3%.
Crude oil futures are trading weak below $74 a barrel and the futures on the Dow index are little changed, while the euro fell from a three-week peak against the dollar amid renewed concerns about the European banking sector.
Meanwhile, U.K. retail sales were up 1% compared to the same period a year ago on a like-for-like basis in August, driven by back to school shopping and new autumn and winter clothing ranges, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday. However, the group warned retailers to expect tough months ahead given the fragile state of confidence among consumers.
Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate at 4.5 percent for a fourth month today as widely expected.
In corporate news, U.K.-based banking giant Barclays Plc is expected to name Robert Diamond, the company's president and head of its investment banking unit, as the company's next chief executive on Tuesday, according to media reports.
French builder Vinci SA won a 264 million-euro contract to build an underground car park and landscaped gardens in the Centre of Doha, Qatar.
Air Liquide SA has signed a long-term contract with 3Sun, a manufacturing joint venture that produces solar panels in Sicily, to supply gases and services to the company.
Stallergenes SA signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Shionogi & Co. for the marketing of two sub-lingual allergen immunotherapy tablet products in Japan.
The European markets ended Monday's session in positive territory with modest gains amid optimism about global recovery. The U.K's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.20%, the German DAX Index advanced 0.33% and the French CAC 40 closed up 0.34%. The U.S. markets were closed for the day on the eve of Labor Day.
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