Investing.com – European stock markets fell on Monday as European Parliament election results showed a rise in nationalist and Eurosceptic parties.
At 03:10 ET (0710 GMT), shares in Germany were trading 0.8% lower, in France they were down 1.9% and in the UK they were down 0.7%.
Sentiment hit by European elections
Risk sentiment weakened on Monday after the end of four days of voting in the European Parliament, which saw a shift to the right and the election of more Eurosceptic nationalists.
This culminated in French President Emmanuel Macron calling early legislative elections later this month following the strong performance of Marine Le Pen’s far-right party in the European elections.
The rise of the right could lead to a more polarized European Parliament, potentially making it difficult to pass EU legislation on issues ranging from climate and immigration to industrial strategy and defense.
Fed meeting gets bigger
Investors are also wary ahead of a meeting later this week, at which the central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged.
However, Fed policymakers are likely to abandon their forecast of three rate cuts this year when they announce their rate decision on Wednesday, and the question is by how much.
Futures point to a rate cut of about 36 basis points this year, with the odds of a September cut pegged at about 50:50.
The key release on US inflation based on the consumer price index will also be released on Wednesday.
With interest rates cut late last week as many expected, investors are now looking for clues as to whether further cuts are likely this year.
Ashtead considers possible US move – report
In the corporate sector, Ashtead (LON:) rose 0.8% after the Sunday Telegraph reported the UK industrial equipment supplier was considering a US listing.
FTSE 100 board members are concerned that the company, which operates primarily in the States, is trading at a “significant” valuation gap compared to its US rivals, the newspaper said.
Oil rises ahead of key monthly reports
Oil prices rose on Monday, stabilizing after three straight weeks of declines ahead of monthly OPEC and IEA reports and the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
By 3:10 a.m. ET, WTI futures were trading 0.2% higher at $75.67 a barrel, with the contract up 0.3% at $79.86 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to release a report on Tuesday that will closely monitor the cartel’s forecasts for annual oil demand.
A monthly report is also due later this week.
Last week, the crude oil market posted a third straight weekly decline on concerns that production cuts by OPEC and its allies, the group known as OPEC+, from October will boost global supplies.