LIVE MARKETS-Europe set to gain as oil plunges

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EUROPE SET TO GAIN AS OIL PLUNGES (0650 GMT) European futures are signalling a firmer open this morning, as oil prices dropped overnight amid news the U.S. is considering the largest ever draw from its emergency oil reserve. Set to erase some of yesterday’s losses, Eurostoxx futures are 0.34% higher while Germany’s DAX is set to open 0.56% up . Meanwhile FTSE futures have been teetering around the zero mark, last up 0.05%. The price of a barrel of brent crude oil plunged as much as 5% overnight, and was last at $109.34 . With the view to lowering surging fuel prices, the White House is mulling the release of up to 180 million barrels of oil over several months from strategic reserves, according to sources . Meanwhile indices in Asia are softer after economic data showed a manufacturing slowdown . Shares in Ferretti debuted in Hong Kong after the Italian yacht maker last week priced the first IPO by a European company since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Polish parcel locker company InPost said it expects pressure on its margins to materialise this year amid rising costs and uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

(Lucy Raitano) *****