By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets are seen opening marginally higher Monday, helped by fresh impetus in the search for a new U.S. stimulus package but continued worries about the Covid-19 surge will likely limit gains.
At 2:05 AM ET (0605 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.4% higher, CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.5% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.2%.
On Sunday, the Trump administration called on Congress to pass a stripped-down coronavirus relief bill. This comes after it proposed a new comprehensive $1.8 trillion stimulus deal on Friday that immediately ran into opposition on both sides of the political divide,
Although that offer moved closer to the $2.2 trillion proposition House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had already put on the table, it was still not sufficient to appease the Democrats, while it also annoyed some Republicans, many of whom are reluctant to add to a growing federal debt pile.
At the same time, worries about the coronavirus remain a constant thorn in the side of the European markets.
France may have reported a drop in new Covid-19 cases to 16,101, the lowest number in five days, but this followed two record-breaking 24-hour periods. Italy is preparing new nationwide restrictions in response to a spike in new cases, while Germany is also considering this possibility.
Additionally, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce new measures to tackle a growing crisis on Monday, outlining three alert levels aimed at helping tailor restrictions for different parts of England.
In corporate news, the tech sector will be in focus following a report in the Financial Times that European Union regulators are drawing up a list of up to 20 large internet companies that will be facing new and tougher rules aimed at curbing their market power.
These new rules will force the companies to share data with rivals and be more transparent on how they gather information, the report said.
Oil prices weakened Monday, as output was restored in Norway, the world's third largest exporter of oil and gas, with the end of a strike. U.S. producers also began pumping again after Hurricane Delta weakened.
U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% lower at $40.17 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 1% to $42.41. Both contracts gained more than 9% last week, the biggest weekly rise for Brent since June.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,933.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.1817.