Equities Cautious Ahead of US Inflation Data; Asian Markets Closed for Lunar New Year

• European equity futures declined before US inflation data that may offer clarity on Fed interest rate cuts • Inflation report expected to show first reading below 3% in year-over-year headline inflation since March 2021 • Markets closed in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam for Lunar New Year holidays • SoftBank surged as much as 11% after further gains for Arm Holdings, in which it holds a stake • MSCI removed 69 companies from its China and Hong Kong indexes under a quarterly review, the highest number of deletions in at least two years