European stocks are expected to open higher Monday as investors prepare for a critical address to Congress by U.S. President Donald Trump amid questions over details of his tax reform and infrastructure policies.
Britain's FTSE 100 is likely to add around 29 points at the start of trading, according to financial bookmakers IG, with the benchmark getting a boost from a noticeably weaker pound, which traded 0.33% lower against the U.S. dollar at 1.2420 overnight in Asia. Germany's DAX and France CAC-40 indices are also called modestly higher at the opening bell.
Asia stocks were largely weaker overnight, with the region-wide MSCI Asia ex-Japan index falling 0.24% by 07:00 GMT and the benchmark Nikkei 225 recording its third consecutive session loss with a 0.91% decline as a stronger yen hit export stocks.
The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the currency's strength against a basket of its global peers, traded modestly higher in Asia at 101.05 but with little conviction in the gains ahead of President Trump's address to U.S. lawmakers Tuesday, where he is expected to provide details on both his tax reform agenda and his infrastructure spending plans.
Global oil markets were firm, owing in part to the dollar's indecision, with traders taking cues from data showing increased bets for price increases and unprecedented discipline from OPEC members on production cuts. Figures from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission published last week indicated investors held record long positions on crude futures, while analysis from the Energy Information Agency in Paris said OPEC members were complying with around 90% of their agreed 1.8 million per barrel daily production cuts.
