By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets are seen opening mixed on Wednesday, as investors digest the sharp pullback in the tech sector overnight ahead of a fresh round of corporate earnings.
At 2:05 AM ET (0705 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher, CAC 40 futures in France dropped 0.3% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.1%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 1.9% lower on Wall Street Tuesday as investors dumped megacap stocks, the market’s darlings on the way up, on concerns of rising interest rates following comments by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
"It may be that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that our economy doesn't overheat, even though the additional spending is relatively small relative to the size of the economy," Yellen said at a virtual event Tuesday.
She later tried to clarify her comments, but they still reminded investors that rates would have to rise at some point in the future.
Follow=through selling has been limited in Asia given holidays in China, South Korea and Japan.
Turning back to Europe, the tech sector saw late selling on Tuesday, and thus action could be more subdued Wednesday, especially as investors focus on more corporate earnings as well as key economic data.
German logistics company Deutsche Post (OTC:DPSGY) raised its full-year profit forecast Wednesday after more than tripling its operating earnings in the first quarter, predicting that ecommerce will keep booming and global trade will rebound.
French utility Veolia (PA:VIE), which last month agreed a 13 billion euro ($15.6 billion) merger deal with rival Suez (PA:SEVI), posted higher first quarter earnings on Wednesday and kept its 2021 financial outlook.
German fashion house Hugo Boss (DE:BOSSn) saw first-quarter sales almost double in mainland China, and predicted a rebound in the rest of the business in the course of the year.
Results are also expected from the likes of Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), Allianz (DE:ALVG) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) before the open.
Final composite and services PMI readings for April are due from most of the major European countries as well as Eurozone producer prices for March.
Oil prices surged Wednesday, with a sharp fall in U.S. crude stockpiles adding to increased optimism the reopening drives in Europe and the U.S. will boost overall fuel demand.
U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a draw of 7.69 million barrels for the week ended April 30, the largest drop since late January. Investors now await data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due later in the day, for confirmation.
U.S. crude futures traded 0.8% higher at $66.23 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 2.8% to $69.47.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.8% to $1,777.50/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.2008.