Jan 5 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com RISK-OFF TONE (0735 GMT) Futures are pointing to a flat to lower start of the day for European bourses mirroring the risk-off sentiment across Asian stocks, which fell as higher U.S. Treasury yields weighed on global tech firms. read more After the pan-European index STOXX 600 (.STOXX) touched record highs on Tuesday, DAX, Ibex and FTSE futures are edging lower, Eurostoxx 50 Futures is flat. In the calendar, EZ final PMI data and France consumer confidence and consumer price and inflation data for Italy. This evening, minutes from the Fed"s December meeting, due at 1900 GMT, could highlight U.S. policymakers" newfound sensitivity to inflation and their readiness to tighten policy. In terms of news, companies may find some comfort in British PM Boris Johnson"s words England could withstand a surge in COVID-19 infections without further restrictions as Britain reported another record daily high in cases.