European stocks are likely to open lower on Wednesday after recent strong gains.
The downside, however, may remain limited amid hopes for additional U.S. economic stimulus and a coronavirus vaccine.
Healthcare workers and others recommended for the first Covid-19 inoculations could start getting shots within 24 hours, may be at most 36 to 48 hours, after the vaccine receives regulatory authorization, the chief adviser for the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed program said on Tuesday at an event conducted by The Washington Post.
Asian markets are trading mixed despite stimulus hopes and optimism around the vaccine.
U.S. Treasury yields surged and gold rebounded from five-month lows, while the dollar hovered its lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years amid reports that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is circulating a new relief plan aimed at heading off a government shutdown in the midst of a pandemic.
Oil extended losses after an OPEC meeting to decide on production policy was delayed and the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise build in crude oil inventories.
Unemployment data from euro area and retail sales figures from Germany are due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.
Across the Atlantic, trading may be impacted by reaction to payroll processor ADP's report on private sector employment in the month of November.
U.S. stocks advanced overnight as China's manufacturing sector logged its strongest growth in a decade in November and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech sought regulatory clearance for their vaccine in the European Union.
Investors shrugged off data showing a slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks calling the economic outlook "extraordinarily uncertain".
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively to reach fresh record closing highs.
European markets gained ground on Tuesday as vaccine hopes, robust Chinese data and somewhat encouraging economic reports from the euro area outweighed uncertainty over the dwindling time for a Brexit deal.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.7 percent. The German DAX advanced 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index rallied 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 1.9 percent.
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