European Shares Seen Lower Ahead Of Georgia Election

European stocks are likely to open lower on Tuesday, as investors keep an eye on today's runoff elections in Georgia and brace for post-holiday surge in Covid-19 cases as the new variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom continues to pop up around the globe.

Voting in the two Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control power in the U.S. - and with it, the likely fate of President-elect Joe Biden's legislative agenda.

New York has confirmed its first case of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus, raising concerns about threats to hospital capacity should it spread rapidly in the state.

Global coronavirus infections topped 85 million, after daily cases in the U.S. soared to a record of nearly 300,000 following the New Year holiday.

Gold held near an eight-week high and the dollar found support amid uncertainty regarding economic recovery.

Oil steadied near $48 a barrel ahead of a meeting of major oil producers later in the day to decide on output levels for February after talks broke down the previous day.

The British pound extended losses, weighed down by the return to tough nationwide lockdown.

Asian markets fell but the downside remained limited after the New York Stock Exchange scrapped its decision to delist China's three big telecommunication companies.

Retail sales and unemployment figures from Germany are due later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

Across the Atlantic, a report on manufacturing activity may attract attention, although trading activity may be subdued as traders await the outcome of the Georgia runoffs.

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight amid surging Covid-19 cases and uncertainty ahead of two key Senate runoffs in Georgia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ended down around 1.5 percent.

European markets gained ground on Monday as the relief over the last-minute Brexit trade deal as well as encouraging economic data from the euro area, the U.K., and China outweighed warnings of tighter lockdown measures in the region including Germany, the U.K. and Scotland.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.7 percent. The German DAX edged up marginally, France's CAC 40 index gained 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 1.7 percent.

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