European stocks may open a tad lower on Wednesday as doubts remain about the speed at which a coronavirus vaccine can be produced and distributed.
New coronavirus cases raced across the U.S. and Europe, raising concerns that health systems will be overwhelmed with the advent of autumn and winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Meanwhile, uncertainty lingers over the presidential transition of power in the United States after Donald Trump said "results" from his legal challenges to the outcome of voting in key battleground states will begin to emerge "next week."
Trump not conceding defeat in the just-concluded election is an embarrassment and it will not help the President's legacy, President-elect Joe Biden said but hoped that at the end it's all going to come to fruition on January 20th.
Asian stocks advanced and gold edged higher, while the dollar dipped after U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers said that soaring coronavirus cases and the lack of fiscal support could hinder the nation's economic recovery.
Oil prices rose over 1 percent to extend overnight gains despite worries about a drop in fuel demand from new lockdowns to contain the virus.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed as investors continued to pivot away from expensive growth stocks to small-caps and cyclical picks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell as much as 1.4 percent.
European markets advanced on Tuesday amid fresh optimism about coronavirus vaccine and positive updates on the Brexit front.
The pan European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.9 percent. The German DAX gained half a percent, France's CAC 40 index rallied 1.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.8 percent.
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