Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know today in financial markets:
1. Oil regains ground but holds near multi-year lows
Oil prices regained ground on Tuesday, but held near multi-year lows amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut.
London-traded Brent was last up 5 cents, or 0.12%, to trade at $36.40 a barrel as of 6:11AM ET. It fell to $36.04 on Monday, a level not seen since July 2004.
U.S. crude was last up 20 cents, or 0.57%, to $36.01 a barrel, after falling to a 7-year low of $34.29 last week.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts collapsed to the lowest level since 2010, on signs that the U.S. oil market is likely to grow tighter following Congress' decision to lift a 40-year old ban on domestic oil exports, while a global glut gets worse in 2016 due to soaring production in Saudi Arabia and Russia.
2. U.S. GDP data due ahead of the bell
The U.S. is to publish final figures on third quarter economic growth at 8:30AM Eastern Time Tuesday. The data is expected to show that the economy expanded 1.9% in the three months ended September 30, compared to last month's preliminary estimate of 2.1%.
At 10:00AM, the National Association of Realtors is to release data on existing home sales for November, amid forecasts for a gain of 0.5% to 5.37 million, following a decline of 3.4% a month earlier.
3. Global stocks mixed with oil, U.S. GDP in focus
Global stock markets were mixed in quiet trade on Tuesday, as traders continued to monitor oil price movements while awaiting a fresh reading on U.S. economic growth.
European stock markets lost their grip on earlier gains to trade mostly lower, tracking a muted session in Asia. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were up 0.1%, suggesting a flat open on Wall Street later in the day.
A tepid recovery in oil prices from 11-year lows boosted sentiment, but gains were held in check amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut.
4. U.S. dollar drifts lower
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.15% at 98.30, moving further away from last week's two-week peak of 99.33.
The dollar weakened amid skepticism over the Federal Reserve's ability to raise interest rates as much as it would like next year.
Trading volumes are expected to remain light in the coming days due to the Christmas holiday and as many traders already closed books before the end of the year, reducing liquidity in the market and increasing volatility.
5. Google, Ford in talks to build self-driving cars
Tech giant Google (O:GOOGL) and U.S. automaker Ford Motor (N:F) could be teaming up to build self-driving cars, says a report in USA Today, citing Yahoo (O:YHOO) Autos.
Earlier this year, Google began discussions with most of the world's top automakers and assembled a team of traditional and nontraditional suppliers to speed efforts to bring self-driving cars to the market by 2020.