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Investing.com – European stock markets are seen edging higher at the open Wednesday, helped by progress towards further U.S. stimulus and the vaccine rollout, but disappointing Chinese data may limit gains.
Italian stocks are likely to take the spotlight later after President Sergio Mattarella asked former European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi to form a government of national unity, something that would end the latest political crisis in Rome. FTSE MIB futures were up 2.7% as of 2:25 AM ET (0725 GMT).
Elsewhere, the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher, CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.6% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.4%.
In the U.S., the Senate began debating a budget resolution for the 2021 fiscal year on Tuesday, the first step towards passing a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposed by President Joe Biden without Republican support.
The Senate voted along party lines, with Democrats edging out Republicans 50-49, to open debate on a fiscal 2021 budget resolution with coronavirus aid spending instructions.
Additionally, the roll-out of vaccines in many countries is slowly gathering pace: the U.K. has now inoculated 10 million of its population, although health authorities remain concerned by the spread of new variants of the Covid-19 virus. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) has agreed to deliver nine million more doses of its vaccine to the European Union in the first quarter of this year, a region which has been slow on the inoculation uptake.
Dampening spirits somewhat, January’s Caixin services Purchasing Managers Index, released earlier Wednesday, came in at 52, against December’s 56.3, suggesting a slow down in the recovery in the world’s second largest economy.
The Eurozone composite PMI for January will be published later, as well as inflation numbers for January.
Earnings season continues apace, with the likes of GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD), Glencore (OTC:GLNCY), Volvo (ST:VOLVb), Banco Santander (MC:SAN), Siemens (DE:SIEGn) and Publicis (PA:PUBP) all reporting.
Oil prices traded mixed, still around the highest levels in a year after an unexpected fall in U.S. crude oil supply. The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday crude inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels last week, compared with expectations for a small build. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later in the day.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, said on Tuesday it expects oil stockpiles to fall below their five-year average by June, an important milestone in its campaign to rebalance the market.
U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% higher at $54.99 a barrel, after hitting a one-year high of $55.26 on Tuesday. The international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.1% to $57.78, after earlier climbing to $58.05, its highest in more than 11 months.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,839.75/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.2040.
