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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES SOFTER, KEEP WATCHING OIL

Futures are pointing to a softer open for European shares on Wednesday, catching up with a late decline on Wall Street, but with Brent, at $87.7 a barrel, only a bit above where it was when Europe closed on Tuesday, the moves aren't as dramatic as they have been.

Euro STOXX 50 futures STXEc1 are down 0.9%, with FTSE futures off 0.4%. FFIc1

There are a few bits and pieces of company news for investors to process, but it's hard to imagine it won't be another day where the war headlines and what they mean for the oil price drive everything in Stocks World.

As the U.S. and Israel trade air strikes with Iran across the Middle East, the thing to watch will be International Energy Agency, which the Wall Street Journal reported, has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history.

U.S. inflation data due later in the day is the only thing that might change the focus briefly from oil. It's for February, so obviously before the war, but it will give everyone the most up-to-date, status-quo-ante number to plug into their modelling of the impact of higher oil prices on inflation.

For those that are interested in such things, worth keeping an eye on German defence firm Rheinmetall RHMG.DE which said it expects sales to grow by 40% to 45% this year, that's in line with company forecasts, but not some analyst chatter.

Zara owner Inditex ITX.MC, the world's biggest fast fashion company, said currency-adjusted sales grew 9% between February 1 and March 8.

Meanwhile, shares in Oracle ORCL.N leapt 8% in after-hours trade on Tuesday following its results in which it predicted the AI data centre boom will power its revenue above Wall Street estimates well into 2027. Oracle is up around 3% in Frankfurt.

(Alun John)

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