Investing.com - European stocks were little changed in quiet trade on Monday, as market participants looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's semi-annual testimony to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ongoing concerns over the health of the global economy continued to weigh on appetite for riskier assets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased up 0.05%.
Investors were hesitant to make major moves ahead of a testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the week, amid speculation over the possibility of more quantitative easing from the central bank.
Bernanke testifies to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and to the House Financial Services panel on Wednesday.
Minutes of the Fed’s June policy-setting meeting released last week revealed that only a few board members thought that more asset purchases would be necessary.
Several other officials indicated that more action could be warranted only if growth slows, risks intensified or if inflation seemed likely to fall “persistently” below their goal.
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned over the weekend that China's economy has not yet entered a recovery and "difficulties may continue for some time."
He added that that policy makers were likely to introduce measures to boost growth in the second half of the year, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The comments followed government data released Friday showing China’s second quarter economic growth slowed to 7.6% from a year earlier, compared to 8.1% in the first quarter.
While the number was not as bad as feared, China's economy expanded at the slowest rate since the first quarter of 2009, fuelling hopes that policy makers in Beijing will soon begin a fresh round of stimulus to boost growth.
A deeper slowdown in China would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone.
Shares in Spanish lenders were broadly lower after the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the European Central Bank called for imposing losses on holders of senior bonds issued by Spain's most troubled banks.
Banco Santander shares fell 0.7%, while BBVA declined 0.8%.
In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.15%, weighed by losses in financial sector stocks.
Barclays shares shed 2.2% as the Libor manipulation scandal remained in the spotlight, with Jerry Del Misseir, the bank’s outgoing chief operating officer due to be questioned about his knowledge of the situation by U.K. lawmakers Monday.
Elsewhere, in the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open, with market focus shifting to the next policy move from the U.S. and a slew of corporate earnings from later in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.25% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% loss.
Later in the session, the euro zone was to produce official data on consumer price inflation.
The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and business inventories, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.
Ongoing concerns over the health of the global economy continued to weigh on appetite for riskier assets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased up 0.05%.
Investors were hesitant to make major moves ahead of a testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the week, amid speculation over the possibility of more quantitative easing from the central bank.
Bernanke testifies to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and to the House Financial Services panel on Wednesday.
Minutes of the Fed’s June policy-setting meeting released last week revealed that only a few board members thought that more asset purchases would be necessary.
Several other officials indicated that more action could be warranted only if growth slows, risks intensified or if inflation seemed likely to fall “persistently” below their goal.
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned over the weekend that China's economy has not yet entered a recovery and "difficulties may continue for some time."
He added that that policy makers were likely to introduce measures to boost growth in the second half of the year, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The comments followed government data released Friday showing China’s second quarter economic growth slowed to 7.6% from a year earlier, compared to 8.1% in the first quarter.
While the number was not as bad as feared, China's economy expanded at the slowest rate since the first quarter of 2009, fuelling hopes that policy makers in Beijing will soon begin a fresh round of stimulus to boost growth.
A deeper slowdown in China would impair a global expansion that is already faltering because of the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone.
Shares in Spanish lenders were broadly lower after the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the European Central Bank called for imposing losses on holders of senior bonds issued by Spain's most troubled banks.
Banco Santander shares fell 0.7%, while BBVA declined 0.8%.
In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.15%, weighed by losses in financial sector stocks.
Barclays shares shed 2.2% as the Libor manipulation scandal remained in the spotlight, with Jerry Del Misseir, the bank’s outgoing chief operating officer due to be questioned about his knowledge of the situation by U.K. lawmakers Monday.
Elsewhere, in the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open, with market focus shifting to the next policy move from the U.S. and a slew of corporate earnings from later in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.25% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% loss.
Later in the session, the euro zone was to produce official data on consumer price inflation.
The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and business inventories, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.