As investors assess new COVID restrictions in China ahead of the release of the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, European stock markets are anticipated to open with modest losses on Wednesday. 

Around 7:20 GMT, Germany's DAX futures contract traded 0.3% lower, while France's CAC 40 futures fell 0.2%. Whereas the FTSE100 is set to open higher building on yesterday’s gains.  

Rising Investors' willingness to take risks is being affected by COVID-19 outbreaks in China as they worry that the nation could be driven back into the strict lockdown that prevailed at the height of the initial outbreak. 

Investors will be paying close attention to the Fed minutes that will be made public later today. 

They are looking for signs that the Federal Reserve will decrease the pace of interest rate hikes leading up to its final meeting of the year next month as a result of indications that inflation may have peaked. 

Back in Europe, the primary focus of the economic data program is the PMI data, with early November numbers from the U.K. and the Eurozone scheduled. 

In corporate news, a few weeks after rival Liverpool also stated they were considering a sale, English Premier League heavyweights Manchester United will also be in the spotlight as its owners, the Glazer family, began the process of possibly selling the club. 

The world's top crude importer, China, is battling a record-high rise of daily COVID-19 infections, and as a result oil edge lower early Wednesday due to worries about China's declining fuel demand. 

Data from the American Petroleum Institute, released on Tuesday, showed that U.S. oil stockpiles declined by a larger-than-expected 4.8 million barrels in the preceding week, indicating that U.S. consumer demand remains strong, has however moderated losses. 

Later in the session, the Energy Information Agency is expected to release the official government data, with a focus on the rate of the U.S. government's withdrawal from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is currently at a 38-year low. 

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)