Tuesday's opening of European stock markets is seen to be slightly lower as investors worry about slowing global growth and potential changes in central bank policies.

Tuesday's opening of European stock markets is seen to be slightly lower as investors worry about slowing global growth and potential changes in central bank policies.

Data made public earlier in the day revealed that German factory orders fell 0.4% in April, which was a slight improvement over the previous month's stunning 10.9% decline but still symptomatic of the challenges facing Europe's largest economy's industrial sector.

The eurozone's dominant services sector helped to support business activity last month, balancing a worsening loss in the manufacturing sector, according to the final composite PMI index, which was issued on Monday and is regarded as a reliable indicator of overall economic health.

The U.S. service sector's activity barely increased in May, indicating that the sector's recent robust expansion may have peaked in the face of increasing interest rates and high inflation.

Markets are increasingly expecting the Federal Reserve to stop raising rates next week, but the European Central Bank still seems months away from doing the same given how important inflation remains.

President Christine Lagarde stated on Monday that despite "signs of moderation," it was still too early to declare a peak in core inflation, which had been expected to continue. The ECB also meets next week.

The Australian central bank increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point overnight while announcing that more policy tightening may yet be necessary this year due to the nation's persistently high inflation rate.

Tuesday saw a little decline in oil prices as traders moved their focus back to the deteriorating U.S. economic environment following the Saudi output cut.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)