European stock futures higher; German consumer confidence slips By Investing.com

Investing.com – European stock markets are expected to open higher Tuesday, with the U.K. returning from a day’s holiday, ahead of the release of a barrage of key economic readings this week. 

At 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT), the contract in Germany traded 0.4% higher, in France climbed 0.4% and the contract in the U.K. rose 0.8%.

European markets are set to take positive cues from Wall Street as U.S. stocks ended Monday higher, with these gains spilling over into Asian trade. The U.K. indices are likely to lead the way, as they catch up with the gains seen on Monday when London was on holiday.

German consumer confidence still weak

German consumer confidence likely remained weak in September, with the forward-looking coming in at -25.5, data showed earlier Tuesday, slipping slightly from August’s revised -24.6.

The dominant German economy is struggling, suffering from a deepening downturn in manufacturing output, with data last week showing that the eurozone’s largest economy recorded no growth in the second quarter.

The week also sees the release of consumer prices for August, with the expected to register a small drop in the annual release to 5.1%, from 5.3% in July. 

The next meets in September, and this economic slowdown could prompt the central bank to pause its tightening cycle in September. However, with inflation still way above its 2% medium-term target another 25 basis point hike is still likely before the end of the year.

UBS in spotlight this week

The quarterly earnings season is gradually coming to a close, and investors are likely to focus on UBS (SIX:) this week.

The Swiss banking giant will publish, on Thursday, its first earnings report since its takeover of Swiss rival Credit Suisse, shedding new light on the deal’s impact and the inner workings of the new banking giant.

Besides its second quarter figures – delayed by over a month because of the deal’s complexities – investors will be poring over any additional information for clues on how the biggest banking rescue since the global financial crisis is playing out.

Crude flat ahead of key economic data

Oil prices traded largely flat Tuesday, as traders warily await key economic data, due later in the week, that could influence the path of U.S. interest rates as well as provide indications of future Chinese demand. 

Thursday sees the release of the U.S. report, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, while the August release is due on Friday.

Chinese purchasing managers’ index data are also due on Thursday and Friday, and are expected to shed more light on business activity in the world’s largest oil importer. 

Traders will also be keeping an eye on the path of Tropical Storm Idalia, which is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday, likely causing some production shutdowns in the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico region.

By 02:00 ET, the futures traded 0.1% lower at $80.04 a barrel, while the contract dropped 0.1% to $83.83. 

Additionally, rose 0.3% to $1,930.55/oz, while traded 0.1% higher at 1.0823.