Diminishing perspective of downtown London skyscrapers
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LONDON — European stocks opened broadly higher on Tuesday, as investors reacted to the European Union’s landmark trade deal with India and braced for a flurry of corporate earnings.
Twenty minutes into the trading session, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.3% higher, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday that India and the EU had closed a “landmark” free trade agreement, touted as the “mother of all deals.” The agreement represents about 25% of global GDP and about a third of global trade.
The EU’s biggest exports to India are machinery, transport equipment and chemicals, according to the European Council. The bloc’s biggest imports from India are machinery, chemicals and fuels.
Europe’s Stoxx Chemicals index was last seen trading 0.6% lower, while the trade-sensitive autos sector shed 0.1%. Regional industrials stocks added 0.3%.
Earnings season is getting underway again with regional investors keeping an eye on the latest financial reports from ASML, Volvo, LVMH and Deutsche Bank, among others, this week. On Tuesday, Atlas Copco, Sandvik and Logitech International are due to report.
There’s been more global trade uncertainty overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at South Korea Monday, saying he would increase tariffs on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Trump said on Truth Social that the country’s legislature has not approved Seoul’s trade deal with Washington, and that tariffs on South Korean autos, pharmaceuticals and lumber would rise from 15% to 25%. Shares of South Korean autos fell sharply but pared losses overnight.
S&P 500 futures were near the flatline overnight after the major averages started the busy earnings week on a positive note. Investors are also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s rate decision later this week.
The central bank is widely expected to keep its key rate at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, but traders will search for clues on when future cuts may come.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Priyanka Salve contributed to this market report.
