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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: CATCH UP AND THEN WHAT?

It's going to be a busy week for markets people, but, before we get there, European stocks have to catch up with Friday's late U.S. rally, which largely came after they had packed up.

Euro STOXX 50 futures are up 0.9%, a bit of a bounce-back after the euro zone blue chip benchmark lost 0.4% on Friday and shed 1.9% on the week, its biggest weekly drop since July.

U.S. stocks finished last week with an up day as markets went back to seeing a Federal Reserve cut in December as more likely than not, and the mood has been positive in Asia so far.

But that's all last week's story, to come we've got a fair amount of U.S. data, including retail sales, PPI and jobless claims, which might help further refine views about that Fed meeting.

Meanwhile Europe has, at long last, Britain's endlessly-discussed budget and of course headlines to watch around the Russia-Ukraine war, while in Asia Japanese government bonds and the yen are continuing to struggle in the face of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's spending plans. JP/ FRX/

Company news-wise, BHP BHP.AX on Monday pulled back from a last-ditch effort to buy Anglo American AAL.L and bolster its dominance in copper, just two weeks before shareholders at Anglo and Canada's Teck Resources were set to vote on a $60 billion tie-up.

And Julius Baer BAER.S said it has taken an additional loan loss allowances of 149 million Swiss francs ($184 million), concluding a credit review that the Swiss bank says will help it resolve legacy issues and "turn the page".

(Alun John)

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