A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee: Soft demand and weak economic activity remain a drag on China as the world’s second-biggest economy slowly but surely shakes off its COVID restrictions. The path to reopening is unlikely to be smooth and straight-forward, with some finding it difficult to break out of habits formed during the strict lockdowns. Investors though are riding on the reopening optimism. An index of Chinese gambling stocks is up more than 60% in two weeks, all while the spectre of an economic slowdown looms large. Next week’s slate of central…