Tourists take pictures under the rain in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Lionel Bonaventure | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks opened in positive territory Tuesday despite economic uncertainty and concerns over Europe’s growth outlook return to the fore this week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened 0.37% higher with the basic resources, technology and household goods sectors the best performers.
European stocks had closed higher Monday despite German and French preliminary composite PMI data, a measure of business activity in the manufacturing and services sector, showing declines in September in both of Europe’s largest economies, as well as the wider euro zone area.
Market participants were also keeping an eye on shares of Commerzbank Tuesday after the stock fell around 5.7% Monday after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized what he described as UniCredit’s “hostile” and “unfriendly” move on the bank, Reuters reported.
His comments came shortly after Italy’s UniCredit announced it had increased its stake in the German lender to around 21% and submitted a request to boost the holding to up to 29.9%, signaling a takeover bid might be on the cards.
Asia-Pacific markets climbed overnight, with Chinese stocks leading gains after Beijing announced a range of policy easing measures in a rare briefing from Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China.
The PBOC will cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points, although it did not provide a specific timeline. It also announced it would cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate from 1.7% to 1.5%, among other measures.
U.S. stock futures were little changed Monday after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posted new record closes.
The gains were modest but appeared to be a continuation of last week’s rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point. The fed funds rate now sits at a range of 4.75% to 5.00%