European Shares Poised For Mixed Open

European stocks are seen opening on a mixed note Monday after the U.K. formally left the single market and customs union of the EU, three and half years after the U.K. public voted to leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

U.S.-China tensions remain on investors' radar, with Beijing threatening retaliation in response to the New York Stock Exchange's announcement that it would delist three major Chinese telecoms.

Investors are also cautiously watching runoff elections in Georgia for two U.S. Senate seats on Tuesday that will determine control of the upper chamber of Congress.

Democrat Nancy Pelosi was reelected as House speaker for a fourth time, as a new Congress took office amid political uncertainty.

Asian stocks are trading mostly higher after regional business surveys showed Asian factory activity expanded moderately in December, thanks to robust demand in regional giant China.

Japan's Nikkei index was moving lower and the safe-haven yen strengthened after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed the country was considering another state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures in the near future to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed the 85 million mark, with U.S. daily cases soaring to a record of nearly 300,000 after the New Year holiday.

The U.K. is preparing to give the first shots of AstraZeneca's vaccine today, in a race against a faster-spreading variant that's prompted new lockdowns across much of the country.

A raft of manufacturing and service surveys across the globe as well as the closely-watched U.S. December payroll report may provide further clues on the pace of economic recovery this week.

Final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' survey results are due from euro area and the U.K. later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting will be released on Wednesday as investors look for fresh guidance on its asset purchases.

Market Analysis