European Stock Futures Lower; Caution Over Evergrande’s Woes, Fed Meeting By Investing.com – Investing.com

European Stock Futures Lower; Caution Over Evergrande’s Woes, Fed Meeting By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse 

Investing.com - European stock markets are expected to open lower Monday, weighed by sharp losses in Asia amid concerns about the health of property giant China Evergrande Group (HK:) and ahead of the week’s crucial Federal Reserve meeting.

At 2 AM ET (0600 GMT), the contract in Germany traded 0.9% lower, in France dropped 2.1% and the contract in the U.K. fell 0.8%.

European equities have received a negative handover from Asia, despite China, Japan and South Korea being on holiday, with Hong Kong’s dropping more than 3%, dragged down by the continued dumping of shares in Chinese property company Evergrande.

Investors seem to be taking a dim view of its business prospects, with a bond interest payment due on Thursday and concerns growing that a default on its $300 billion of liabilities could crystallize broader risks in China's financial system.

The week also sees a number of central banks hold policy-setting meetings, including the , the and the . But the focus will be on the , with the U.S. central bank potentially taking another step toward tapering at its two-day meeting, starting on Tuesday.

Investors