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At 4:15 AM ET (0915 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 1.4% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 1% and the U.K.’s FTSE index climbed 0.7%.
UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, reported net income of $1.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2020, a 137% jump on the year before, helped by high levels of client activity. Its stock rose 3.8%.
Swedish buyout group EQT (NYSE:EQT) jumped 9.6% after it signed a deal to buy global real estate investment manager Exeter Property Group for $1.87 billion.
However, the corporate news hasn’t been all good. Swiss drugmaker Novartis stock fell 3.2% after its fourth-quarter sales and profit rose less than expected, while Rolls-Royce (OTC:RYCEY) stock fell 11% said it expects another 2 billion pound cash ($2.7 billion) outflow in 2021, even if the airline industry gets going in the second half of the year.
Also helping the tone, sentiment among German exporters in the industrial sector improved significantly this month, hitting its highest since October, the Ifo economic institute said on Tuesday.
“Clarity on Brexit and the U.S. presidency, a robust industrial economy and the start of global vaccinations have led to cautious optimism in the German export industry,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said.
The U.K. claimant count rose 7,000 in December, below than the 35,000 expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in November.
Still, doubts have started to emerge about the size and timing of President Joe Biden’s package needed to stimulate the country’s economy. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Monday that a comprehensive deal could be four to six weeks away.
Additionally, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is expected to resign Tuesday, hoping President Sergio Mattarella will give him a mandate to form a new government with broader backing in parliament.
Conte suffered a political blow last week when a junior party left his coalition in a row over the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and recession.
Oil prices weakened Tuesday on fading hopes for the rapid approval of additional U.S. stimulus, while the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause severe economic damage.
U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry body, are due later in the session.
U.S. crude futures traded 0.1% lower at $52.60 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.1% to $55.64.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,853.10/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.2130.
