European stock markets point to a start to the week with heavy losses. Futures anticipate cuts of more than 2% with an eye on the key meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. Investors are fleeing risk amid slowing activity in many developed countries, high inflation and rising expectations of interest rate hikes. In this context, the euro falls below 99 cents on the dollar. The Ibex 35 ended last Friday recovering 7,900 points after cutting a losing streak of twelve consecutive sessions of losses. But it seems that the truce has lasted little. From Link Securities they point out that central banks “are expected to continue to act forcefully in their attempt to moderate high inflation, especially the ECB, which could even implement a 75 basis point hike in its reference interest rates, which which would be a large-scale movement that we believe is not fully priced in by the markets”. In addition to decisions on monetary policy, the energy crisis has been aggravated in the European Union (EU) by the cutoff of Russian gas through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which increases fears of fuel shortages in winter. The Kremlin on Sunday blamed European politicians for keeping the main gas pipeline closed, saying economic sanctions imposed on Russia have made it difficult for Gazprom to maintain the pipeline. The Oil Ministers of the OPEC + Alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, analyze today in a telematic conference the state of the crude oil market, amid information about a possible cut in production. The price of Brent oil, a reference in Europe, rises more than 2% to exceed 95 dollars a barrel. In the United Kingdom, the British Conservative Party plans to announce this Monday the new leader of the formation, between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, who will replace Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister. In Asia, the Nikkei fell 0.11% due to persistent concerns about the evolution of interest rates in the United States and its impact on the economy at a time of uncertain drift. Wall Street ended Friday in the red. Today is a holiday on Wall Street for Labor Day.