European stocks and U.S. futures weakened on Tuesday amid signs that November’s equity rally appears to be nearing its end. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell by 0.7%, while in the U.S., Nasdaq 100 futures edged 0.1% lower. Contracts listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 remained relatively unchanged.
Citigroup strategists explained that while positive economic data spurred one of the biggest S&P 500 rallies in a century, this rally is slowly drawing to a close, with the index appearing slightly bearish. “US markets seem to be taking a breather post-Thanksgiving so you get a bit of weakness in Europe too,” Kamil Dimmich, partner at North of South Capital in London observed.
Investors now await speeches from Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday as well as another influx of economic data in order to better gauge the direction of the central bank’s interest rate agenda.