A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from

Ankur Banerjee

Global markets largely shrugged off the Trump

administration's immigration crackdown, this time on H-1B visas,

with investors focusing on the future path of interest rates as

several Fed policymakers are due to speak this week.

The long-awaited U.S. rate cut has come and gone but the Fed

indicated a gradual easing in the future. Markets are now

pondering what lies ahead, with traders pricing in 44 basis

points of easing by the end of the year.

There are two more Fed meetings left this year and with the

central bank under intense criticism from Trump, economic data

and comments from policymakers will be crucial in determining

investor sentiment in the near term.

John Williams, Thomas Barkin and Stephen Miran are due to

speak at separate events on Monday while speeches from Raphael

Bostic and Michelle Bowman will be in focus on Tuesday. Fed

Chair Jerome Powell is also scheduled to speak on Tuesday.

All of which means we are back to keeping notes on Fedspeak

and where rates head from here. Fun times!

The dollar began the week steady following last week's

volatility, while stocks remained near record highs. Futures

pointed to a subdued session, with a bare European calendar

expected to keep markets listless.

The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask

companies to pay $100,000 for new H-1B worker visas, setting off

alarm bells in Silicon Valley and among Indian IT firms as visa

holders and tech firms scrambled to make sense of the

regulation.

Initial market reaction was muted although India's Nifty 50

slipped 0.3% and the Indian rupee, one of the

worst performers in Asia this year, was slightly weaker at the

start of the session.

It may take some time for investors to gauge the true cost

to margins for many of the companies who rely on the programme,

analysts said.

Key developments that could influence markets on Monday:

Euro zone consumer confidence flash for September

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)