European shares rose slightly in early trading
on Monday, while Italian shares offset part of their losses after a sell-off
driven by political tensions, ahead of the ECB monetary policy meeting on
Thursday.
Last week, European shares ended on a marginal
rise on hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 25 basis
points next week.
Euro STOXX 50 has increased by about 0.19 percent
to 3,486.65, while the Euro STOXX 600 edged up by 0.10 percent to 387.64,
as of 9:13 GMT.
Italian shares performed better than the rest
of their European counterparts after experiencing their worst days in the
months on Friday due to political tensions that sparked on speculations of
early elections that fueled investors’ uncertainty.
Italy’s FTSE MIB surged 0.26 percent to 21,693.02.
Energy shares led the advance, following the rise
in crude prices on the back of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Investors will carefully watch the ECB meeting
this week, as policymakers may announce a second bond-buying programme in
November 2019.
Capital markets also pricing more than 50% a 10-basis
point rate cut during the European central bank meeting later this week.
Some analysts, however, expect that the Fed's
statement next week is likely to determine whether the stock recovery since May
will continue.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the performance of major six
currencies, rose 0.08 percent to 96.890, was taking advantage of the standoff
in the Strait of Hormuz, the most important waterway for oil trade.