Stock Market - European Stocks To Open Lower.

Before the release of Germany's eagerly anticipated Ifo Institute business conditions survey, investors are likely to review several central banks' interest rate decisions as European stock markets start broadly lower on Monday.

Investors begin the last week of the third quarter by processing the flurry of central bank decisions from the previous week, which produced slightly contrasting results.

As the U.S. Fed adopted a hawkish attitude and suggested that rates would remain higher for longer, other central banks such as in Britain and Switzerland shocked the markets by pausing their rate-hiking cycles.

This came after the European Central Bank's somewhat dovish stance the week before.

Investors will be watching for more cues that the ECB is finished raising interest rates before ECB President Christine Lagarde's speech later in the afternoon.

Investors will closely monitor Germany's Ifo Institute assessment of business conditions for September later in the day since the country's economy, which dominates the eurozone, is of primary concern.

Investor attention will also be focused on the preliminary September consumer pricing data for the bloc expected at the end of this week.

Oil prices increased somewhat on Monday, recovering from their first down week in four as traders switched their attention back to the possibility of future supply shortages.

Both futures declined last week as a result of worries that a hawkish Federal Reserve policy would have an adverse effect on economic activity and, therefore, oil consumption in the world's largest consumer.

On projections of a significant shortfall in oil supply in the fourth quarter as a result of Saudi Arabia and Russia extending additional production cutbacks through the end of the year, prices have remained close to their highest levels since November of last year.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)