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At 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher, CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.2% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.2%.
Activity is likely to be limited Monday with the U.S. on holiday.
European equity indices are likely to benefit from the positive tone seen in Asia overnight, with the Chinese markets the best performers on increased optimism that a series of small policy steps from Beijing might lead to a substantial stimulus package in the near future.
Sentiment was also boosted Monday as property developer Country Garden Holdings earned bondholder approval to extend some debt deadlines, averting a potential default.
Chinese authorities have tended to focus their measures on the beleaguered property sector, including increasing local dollar liquidity and loosening some mortgage rules last week.
China is a major market for a number of Europe’s largest companies, and the faltering recovery of its economy, the second largest in the world, has weighed on the eurozone economy.
Adding to the positivity were the healthy gains on Wall Street last week as Friday’s official jobs report bolstered expectations for the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes at its meeting later this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 1.4% and 3.2% last week, respectively, posting their strongest weekly performances since July. The S&P 500 gained 2.5% for its best week since June.
Back in Europe, activity data released Friday painted a less optimistic picture, as although the downturn in eurozone manufacturing eased last month, demand weakened to its lowest in almost a year.
Additionally, Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and traditionally the region’s major growth driver, stagnated in the second quarter, showing no sign of recovery from a winter recession.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is set to speak later Monday, and her comments will be parsed for clues for likely monetary policy action at the central bank’s next meeting later this month.
In corporate news, the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG) is likely to be in the spotlight Monday, in what otherwise could be a quiet session, after the Financial Times reported that the company has drawn up plans for a new digital markets business to offer extensive trading of traditional financial assets on the blockchain technology known for powering cryptocurrency.
Oil prices steadied at high levels Monday on optimism that top crude producers will agree to further output cuts to the end of the year, keeping supplies tight on a global scale.
Russia said last week that it will outline more reductions in supply this week, adding to the growing expectation that Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, will also extend a one million barrel per day cut into October.
By 02:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded flat at $85.56 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.1% to $88.47, with volumes light on account of the U.S. market holiday.
Both contracts ended last week at their highest levels in more than half a year, rebounding having weakened in the two previous weeks.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,971.35/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.0788.
