Focus on the next Fed meeting

LONDON – European stocks opened lower on Monday as global markets grapple with concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s cut schedule.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell around 1.5% in early transactions in basic resources and banks leading the losses.

The lower opening for Europe comes as global stocks continue to struggle in September, a traditionally weak month for markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recording three straight weeks of losses for the first time in 2021.

Global markets are also experiencing some nervousness ahead of the much-anticipated US Federal Reserve meeting in September, which begins on Tuesday.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference on Wednesday following the two-day meeting with investors keen to gather indications of the Fed’s cut to its accommodative monetary policy.

Powell said the reduction could happen this year, but investors are waiting for more details, especially after the release of mixed economic data since Powell’s last comments. US equity futures were mixed in overnight trading on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index caused losses among Asia-Pacific markets in overnight trading on Sunday, as shares of struggling Chinese developer China Evergrande Group continued to decline. Mainland China, Japan and South Korea markets are closed on Mondays for public holidays.

There is no major earnings release in Europe on Monday, but the data releases include UK house price data for September and German producer prices for August.

– CNBC’s Hannah Miao and Eustance Huang contributed to this market report.