European stocks are seen opening on a mixed note Tuesday as the U.K. and other parts of Europe brace for a Blue Christmas in the time of Covid-19.
As tighter social-distancing rules bite and Covid-19 rages, most people's plans for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays may be curtailed.
Asian markets remain broadly lower as investors fretted about possible lockdowns due to a new fast-spreading Covid-19 strain.
India, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Jordan, Hong Kong, among others, have suspended travel for Britons, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman closed their borders completely to the U.K.
EU countries are likely to begin first shots of Covid-19 vaccine after Christmas after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech's vaccines cleared regulatory hurdles on Monday.
On the Brexit front, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of problems in negotiations and said that Britain would thrive without a deal.
"There are problems, it's vital that everybody understands that the U.K. has got to be able to control its own laws completely, and also that we've got to be able to control our own fisheries."
The dollar rose and oil extended overnight losses on worries of a slower recovery in fuel demand, while gold edged up on safe-haven demand.
The U.S. Senate voted 91-7 late Monday to approve both the coronavirus aid package and a full-year spending bill that will fund federal government activities through September 2021.
The House of Representatives passed the package earlier on Monday. The bill now heads to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign it into law.
Quarterly national accounts and public sector finance data from the U.K. are due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.
Across the Atlantic, reports on consumer confidence and existing home sales along with the latest news on the coronavirus front may sway sentiment.
U.S. stocks recovered from an initial sell-off to end mixed overnight as investors weighed concerns over the new variant of the coronavirus against an agreement on a second pandemic relief bill.
Nike's upbeat quarterly results and the Fed's announcement that the nation's largest banks will be allowed to resume share repurchases in the first quarter of 2021 offered some support.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1 percent higher after losing over 400 points in early trade. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.4 percent.
European stocks tumbled on Monday as Brexit trade deal talks remained deadlocked and countries around the world slapped tough travel restrictions on the U.K.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slumped 2.3 percent. The German DAX plunged 2.8 percent, France's CAC 40 index lost 2.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 1.7 percent.
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