By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. stock futures pointed down in early European trade, as global equities looked set to kick off the second half of the year in the red.

After notching the best quarter in six years, U.S. equities lost steam as traders upped bets for further interest-rate hikes this year. Kevin Warsh is due to speak at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra, Portugal, in his first international appearance as Federal Reserve chairman. Investors will watch to see whether the chairman sheds further light on the Fed's rate-setting path, though focus remains on June's nonfarm payroll data print Thursday.

The dollar and Treasury yields rose while gold fell back below $4,000 a troy ounce and Bitcoin hovered above a 21-month low, as rate-hike expectations continued to weigh on nonyielding assets.

Market attention remains fixed on the prospect of yen intervention after the currency hit a fresh 40-year low against the dollar.

  • Oil prices were little changed in early European trading. Brent crude nudged up 0.2% to $73.10 a barrel, while WTI futures rose 0.1% to $69.58 a barrel after posting their sharpest quarterly decline since early 2020 on Tuesday. President Trump has weighed returning to all-out war with Iran but decided to stick with diplomatic talks for now, The Wall Street Journal reported. He also told aides that he is fine if negotiations with Tehran blow past an Aug. 18 deadline. "Improving prospects for a lasting U.S.-Iran agreement continued to ease supply concerns," analysts at MUFG said. Still, "uncertainty remains over key issues, including Iran's nuclear program and future governance of the Strait of Hormuz, which could complicate negotiations during the ongoing ceasefire period."
  • In the U.S., futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both down 0.4%. Nasdaq futures slid 0.55%. Nike shares slipped 3.8% in premarket trade after the sportswear group posted earnings after market close Tuesday, as the tough Chinese market continued to hurt sales. Chip makers also weakened in premarket after rallying Tuesday, with Micron Technology slipping 3.4%.
  • Asian equities were mixed and oil was little moved. South Korea's Kospi fell 2.0% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6%. China's Shanghai Composite Index put up 0.45% while the Hong Kong market was closed for a holiday.
  • European indexes opened lower. Banking and utilities stocks fell, though defense stocks gained as the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 slipped 0.5%. London's FTSE 100 fell 0.4% amid weakness in housing and mining stocks, while Associated British Foods slid 3.15% after a business update. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.4% as large banking stocks struggled, with Societe Generale losing 1.8%. Germany's DAX slipped 0.1% as industrials giant Siemens moved 1.3% lower, though defense group Rheinmetall rose 2.4% following reports Germany wants to build more weapons domestically. Financials dragged Spain's IBEX 35 down 0.85%, with Santander falling 1.3%. Italy's FTSE MIB lost 0.55%, as weakness in luxuries compounds losses for banks. The Dutch AEX dropped 0.3% as miners weigh, while ASML fell 0.5%.
  • U.S. two- and 10-year Treasury yields hit one-week highs of 4.181% and 4.473%, respectively, in Asian trade before coming off peaks. The rise in yields points to a solid U.S. economy coupled with inflationary pressure, while Middle East peace talks still see back-and-forth steps. On the data front, June employment data on Thursday are awaited to confirm continued strength of the labor market, even as some cooling is expected. The two-year Treasury yield was up 3.7 basis points at 4.175%, while the 10-year was up 4.3 basis points at 4.464%.
  • Eurozone government bond yields opened higher, tracking rising U.S. Treasury yields. Focus turns to the flash estimate of eurozone inflation, due at 0900 GMT. Headline annual inflation is expected to have decelerated in June to 3.0% from 3.2% previously, according to The Wall Street Journal's poll of analysts. Comments from the European Central Bank's forum in Sintra, Portugal could add some impulse to yield moves, too. The 10-year Bund yield rises 2.1 basis points to 2.883%, according to Tradeweb.
  • Bitcoin stayed weaker after reaching a 21-month low overnight, as expectations for U.S. interest-rate rises weighed. Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $58,591 after reaching as low as $57,775 overnight.
  • In early European trading, New York gold futures slid 1.6% to $3,974 an ounce. "The market has yet to attract sufficient buying interest to establish that level as support," analysts at Saxo Bank said. "Gold fell 14% during the second quarter, its worst quarterly performance since 2013, as investors continued to price in the risk that the Federal Reserve may tighten policy further in response to an inflation flare-up, despite the recent retreat in energy prices."

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com