BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are seen opening on a
sluggish note Tuesday as investors fret about a second Trump presidency and its
implications for U.S. foreign policy.

Also, the addition of Vance to the GOP ticket has raised further questions about
a potential new administration's commitment to Ukraine and the transatlantic
alliance.

'I got to be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one
way or another,' Vance told Steve Bannon in an interview in 2022.

Asian markets traded mixed in anticipation of further trade and geopolitical
tensions if Trump wins a second term.

Gold edged up to trade near record highs while oil extended losses on worries
about a slowing Chinese economy crimping demand.

The dollar hung around five-week lows amid U.S. rate cut optimism after Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the three inflation readings over the second
quarter of this year provided policymakers greater confidence that the pace of
price increases is returning to the central bank's 2 percent target.

'If you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2 percent, you've probably
waited too long,' he said.

Separately, Fed Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly stated that inflation
is cooling down, but more information is needed before making a rate decision.

U.S. 10-year bond yields edged lower ahead of the release of U.S. retail sales
data for June and a speech from Fed's Adriana Kugler later in the day.

The European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision is due on Thursday and
economists expect the central bank to hold the main refinancing rate and the
deposit facility unchanged.

Eurozone foreign trade data and German economic sentiment survey results are
awaited later in the day.

U.S. stocks closed on a firm note overnight, with two of the three major indexes
moving on to record fresh highs, on optimism about interest-rate cuts by the Fed
and rising prospects of former President Donald Trump winning the upcoming
presidential elections.

The Dow gained half a percent, the S&P 500 edged up 0.3 percent and the
tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.4 percent despite data showing a continued
decline in New York state manufacturing activity.

European stocks closed lower on Monday, weighed down by some disappointing
economic data from China, and none too encouraging corporate earnings updates.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 1 percent. The German DAX shed 0.8 percent,
France's CAC 40 lost 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.9 percent.



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