European Shares Seen Higher As Lockdown Restrictions Ease

European stocks are likely to open higher on Tuesday as Italy finally eased lockdown restrictions with strict guidelines after two months.

The country has allowed 4.5 million people to return to work but not without masks and gloves. Restaurants, parks and public transports have been re-opened too.

Spain continues to be in a state of lockdown, but easing of restrictions have been announced across the country.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said some businesses will reopen as early as Friday, with conditions. Andrew Cuomo of New York has outlined a phased reopening in the U.S. state hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

India started reopening its factories after spending more than a month in strict lockdown. Hong Kong may soon reopen cinemas and gyms.

The global number of Covid-19 cases stand at 3,582,469. The U.S. topped the list with over 1.1 million cases and more than 68,300 fatalities.

U.S. President Donald Trump has promised a “conclusive” report on the U.S. investigation into China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and increased his projection for the total U.S. death toll to as many as 100,000.

Asian markets edged higher in thin trade, with markets in China, Japan and South Korea closed for holidays. Gold eased on improved risk appetite amid easing coronavirus restrictions, while oil extended recent gains on expectations that fuel demand would begin to pick up.

Final Purchasing Managers’ survey data from the U.K. is due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news. The Bank of England has a policy decision on Thursday and further quantitative easing could be on the cards.

Across the Atlantic, trading later in the day may be impacted by reports on the U.S. trade deficit and service sector activity, although caution may prevail ahead of the closely-watched monthly jobs report on Friday, which is expected to show severe impact from the pandemic.

U.S. stocks reversed from an early slide to end higher overnight despite indications that Sino-American relations are about to get worse.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.2 percent.

European markets fell the most in nearly two weeks on Monday, with a flare-up in U.S. China tensions, concerns about the coronavirus’s impact on earnings and news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc has completely exited its stakes in the four major U.S. airlines weighing on sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 plunged 2.7 percent. The German DAX tumbled 3.6 percent and France’s CAC 40 index shed 4.2 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent.

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