Stock markets are expected to start the week lower as this week's central bank meetings take centre stage.

While the U.K. economy expanded in October, stock markets are expected to start the week lower as this week's central bank meetings take centre stage.

Following the losses in Asia overnight, markets are set to open Monday's trading day lower. However, this was enhanced by an additional working day in the month following September's bank holiday for Queen Elizabeth II's burial. The UK GDP increased by 0.5% on the month in October. The last quarter of the year should see a 0.3% decline in GDP, according to the Bank of England.

The Bank of England has also cautioned that this is the nation's longest recession since records have been kept. Last month, British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt declared that the U.K. was in a recession.

Despite this bleak outlook, the BoE is anticipated to increase borrowing costs this week along with the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Swiss and Norwegian central banks, and others.

Even though U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted a sharp decline in U.S. inflation in 2023, the Fed is largely anticipated to raise interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday.

All of the European central banks are in line to make announcements on Thursday, and despite the worsening economic outlook, both the ECB and the Bank of England are likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points.

In other news, Roche will be in the spotlight following the appointment of Thomas Schinecker as the new group chief executive by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, succeeding Severin Schwan, who has been proposed as the company's future chairman.

Furthermore, in the oil world, the Keystone pipeline between the United States and Canada remained halted on Monday, posing a supply danger to the country that consumes the most crude oil globally.

Canadian company TC Energy has not yet discovered what caused the leak in its Keystone oil pipeline, so it does not know when it will start supplying 622,000 barrels per day of heavy Canadian crude to refineries in the Midwest and Gulf Coast of the United States.  

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)