European stocks remain mixed to lower in cautious trade; Dax down 0.12%

European stocks remained mixed to lower on Monday, as uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve bond-buying program weighed on market sentiment. 

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.12%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.27%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.12%. 

Markets were jittery as concerns over the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the U.S. economic recovery fuelled expectations that the Fed would delay plans for rolling back its asset purchase program until at least the beginning of next year.

Investors were eyeing U.S. data releases later in the week after the shutdown delayed the release of some key economic reports. The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, was due on Tuesday. 

Financial stocks pushed ower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 0.94% and 1.77%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank plummeted 1.86%. 

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander declined 0.87% and 1.11% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit shed 0.36% and 0.67%. 

Elsewhere, German software company SAP surged 6.05% after saying third-quarter operating profit rose to EUR1.3 billion as revenue from the Hana database product climbed 79%. 

Adding to gains, Actelion saw shares rally 4.95% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved the use of Opsumit once daily for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension. 

In London, FTSE 100 added 0.18%, led by G4S, up 3.33%, following reports British private equity group Charterhouse Capital Partners was considering making a GBP1 billion offer for G4S's cash-solutions business. 

Also on the upside, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton gained 0.73% and 0.70% respectively, while rivals Glencore Xstrata climbed 0.75% and Vedanta Resources surged 3%. 

Meanwhile, financial stocks remained mostly lower, as shares in Lloyds Banking lost 1.15% and Barclays tumbled 1.29%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland dove 5.20%. HSBC Holdings overperformed on the other hand, rising 0.15%. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.22% increase. 

Also Monday, data showed that German producer price inflation rose 0.3% from a month earlier in September, better than expectations for a 0.1% increase. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.

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U.S. futures edge higher, focus on Fed tapering; Dow Jones up 0.04%

U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Monday, amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve may postpone the tapering of its bond-buying program. 

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.04% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% increase. 

Markets were jittery as concerns over the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the U.S. economic recovery fuelled expectations that the Fed would delay plans for rolling back its asset purchase program until at least the beginning of next year.

Investors were eyeing U.S. data releases later in the week after the shutdown delayed the release of some key economic reports. The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, was due on Tuesday. 

The telecom sector was expected to be active, after AT&T, the largest U.S. phone company, agreed to sell or lease 9,700 wireless towers to Crown Castle International for USD4.85 billion, giving it extra cash as it considers a European expansion. 

AT&T shares surged 2.57% in pre-market trade. 

Tech stocks were also likely to be in focus, as Google was up over 13% after the closing bell on Friday, thanks to better-than-expected earnings posted on Thursday afternoon. At least 16 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock to between USD880 and USD1,220. 

Google shares were still up 0.89% in early trading on Monday. 

In the financial sector, JPMorgan on Friday reached a tentative USD4 billion settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency on claims the bank misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about mortgages it sold to them. 

Elsewhere, Apple shares gained 0.67% pre-market, amid reports it is upgrading its iPad lineup to fend off a growing list of competitors, which are introducing their own tablets at lower prices with more attractive features. 

Other stocks likely to be in focus included McDonald's, Halliburton, Discover Financial, Netflix and Texas Instruments, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day. 

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.12%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.27%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.11%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.17%. 

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 0.91%. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.

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Dollar moves higher vs. yen, U.S. data in focus

The dollar moved higher against the yen on Monday, but gains remained limited amid concerns that the economic impact of the U.S. government shutdown will prompt the Federal Reserve to postpone plans to reduce stimulus measures.

During European late morning trade, the dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.30% to 98.07.

The yen slid after data released on Monday showed that Japan posted a trade deficit of JPY932.1 billion in September, as export growth slowed. It was the 15th consecutive monthly deficit, the longest run on record.

The dollar received an additional boost after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated Monday that the bank would stick to its stimulus program and added that the economy was on track to reach the bank's 2% inflation target.

The dollar remained under pressure as concerns over the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the U.S. economic recovery fuelled expectations that the Fed would delay plans for rolling back its asset purchase program until at least the beginning of next year.

Investors were awaiting U.S. data releases later in the week after the shutdown delayed the release of some key economic reports. The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, was due on Tuesday.

The euro slipped lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD dipping 0.07% to trade at 1.3675.

Elsewhere, the dollar was almost unchanged against the pound, withGBP/USD edging down 0.03% to 1.6159.

The dollar was slightly higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.18% to 0.9035.

The greenback was almost unchanged against its Australian and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD dipping 0.06% to 0.9669 andUSD/CAD inching up 0.02% to 1.0296. The greenback was higher against the New Zealand dollar, with NZD/USD down 0.41% to 0.8472.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.08% to 79.75. 

The U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales later Monday.

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