European markets set for choppy open as growth concerns return

LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in mixed territory Tuesday as economic uncertainty and concerns over Europe’s growth outlook return to the fore.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to open 4 points higher at 8,253, Germany’s DAX up 23 points at 18,852, France’s CAC 40 up 19 points at 7,518 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 16 points higher at 33,610, according to data from IG.

European stocks closed higher Monday as investors assessed banking deals and German and French preliminary composite PMI data, a measure of business activity in the manufacturing and services sector, which fell in September in both of Europe’s largest economies, as well as the wider euro zone area.

Market participants will be 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%