European stocks edged higher Tuesday, helped by a trade deal between the European Union and India, as investors await more quarterly earnings and a Federal Reserve rate decision.
At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.2%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.3%, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.3%.
EU/India trade agreement Sentiment received a boost Tuesday with the announcement of a historic Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union that encompasses 25% of global GDP and one-third of international trade, concluding negotiations first launched in 2007.
Trade between India and the EU stood at $136.5 billion in the fiscal year through March 2025. Together, the two account for nearly one-fifth of global trade and about 25% of the world’s population.
This news has boosted confidence even with U.S. President Donald Trump disrupting international trade once more, this time announcing he was raising tariffs on South Korea to 25%, from 15%, for not enacting the trade deal agreed last July.
Trump warned over the weekend that he would impose a 100% tariff on Canada if Ottawa signed a trade deal with China.
European car sales grew in 2025 European car sales grew for a third year in a row in 2025, as new-vehicle registrations climbed 2.4% to 13.3 million units after another bounce in December, according to data released earlier Tuesday.
That said, the eurozone data slate is devoid of major releases Tuesday, with most attention on the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later in the session.
The “FOMC meeting is very likely to see monetary policy left unchanged after 75bp of interest rate cuts spread over the previous three meetings,” said analysts at ING, in a note.
“The fact that growth is strong, unemployment is low, equity markets are close to all-time highs and inflation is above target all argue for a pause.”
Earnings to the fore The earnings season is starting to gather pace in Europe this week, but the majority of attention will be on Wall Street, with more than 90 S&P 500 companies slated to report quarterly earnings.
Tuesday includes numbers from Boeing (NYSE:BA) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), while tech giants Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are released on Wednesday, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Thursday.
Earnings this quarter have been strong so far, with about three out of four S&P 500 companies beating expectations, according to data from FactSet.
Back in Europe, a lot of attention will be the annual results from LVMH (EPA:LVMH) after the European close Tuesday, with investors hopeful the numbers will show further signs the luxury giant is recovering after a lengthy slowdown.
Swedish engineering group Sandvik (ST:SAND) reported a 2% drop in full-year revenue, weighed down by currency effects, even as order intake rose and profit increased.
Swedish industrial communications firm HMS Networks (ST:HMSN) reported a 64% jump in fourth-quarter adjusted operating profit, driven by higher sales even as order intake declined.
Var Energi (OL:VAR) said fourth-quarter net production rose 43% from a year earlier, with the Norwegian oil and gas producer boosted by higher oil and gas volumes and the resolution of operational issues at key assets.
Puma (ETR:PUMG) was also in the spotlight after China’s Anta Sports Products said it would buy a 29% stake in the German sportswear maker, making it Puma’s biggest shareholder.
Crude prices drift lower Oil prices slipped slightly lower Tuesday, handing back some of the recent gains, but losses have been tempered by supply disruptions from extreme winter conditions in the U.S..
Brent futures dropped 0.5% to $64.46 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.4% to $60.38 a barrel.
Both benchmarks notched weekly gains of 2.7% last week, closing on Friday at their highest points since January 14.
Oil price declines were tempered by a loss of production in the U.S. as a severe winter storm swept across the country, straining energy infrastructure and power grids.
U.S. oil producers are estimated to have lost up to 2 million barrels per day or roughly 15% of national production over the weekend.
