Investing.com - European equity indices have reopened after the long Easter weekend, closing higher despite the degree of economic uncertainty gripping international markets.
The DAX index in Germany closed 0.5% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.6%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. gained 0.7%.
Fed independence under threat
However, sentiment remains extremely fragile as investors attempt to cope with the economic uncertainty brought about by U.S. President Donald Trump’s volatile trade policies. However, European equities do appear to be relatively in demand as investors head away from Wall Street.
Investors bought a net $11 billion in European equity funds and $3.6 billion in Asian equity funds in the week to April 16, while U.S. equity funds saw an outflow of $10.6 billion, according to LSEG Lipper data.
The major U.S. indices closed sharply lower on Wall Street on Monday after Trump introduced another major worry into the market, threatening the independence of the Federal Reserve by calling for the head of Chairman, Jerome Powell.
Trump has been seeking lower interest rates from the U.S. central bank, and upped the ante on Monday, calling on Powell to initiate “preemptive cuts” or risk a slowing economy.
The Fed decided to hold rates unchanged at its last meeting in March, looking for “greater clarity” before considering any adjustments, while Powell also pointed out last week that “tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation.”
ECB signals more cuts ahead
There is little in the way of significant economic data due in Europe on Tuesday, and thus investors are likely to pay more attention to comments out of the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings in Washington this week.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the seventh time in a year last week to bolster an already struggling eurozone economy facing a large hit from U.S. tariffs.
The policymakers stressed a deteriorating growth outlook, allowing investors to bet on even steeper interest rate cuts ahead, given the fragile nature of the region’s economic prospects.
Roche to invest $50 billion in U.S.
There are no major earnings in the European corporate sector Tuesday, but Roche (SIX:ROG) said it will invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, in one of the biggest inward investment moves since President Donald Trump disrupted global trade with his new tariffs policy.
The Swiss pharma giant said the investment would create more than 12,000 new jobs, including nearly 6,500 construction jobs, as well as 1,000 jobs at new and expanded facilities.
German carmaker Mercedes Benz (ETR:MBGn) unveiled a new all-electric luxury limousine segment it called "Vision V" which it said marked the expansion of the top end of its vans portfolio.
Across the pond, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is scheduled to release its results later in the session, with expectations on the low side given the EV manufacturer’s sales have been hit by competition and retaliation to CEO Elon Musk’s far-right politics.
Crude rebounds after sharp losses
Oil prices rose Tuesday, rebounding after the previous session’s sharp losses but caution remains amid global economic uncertainty driven by U.S. trade tariffs.
At 11:40 ET, Brent futures climbed 2% to $67.60 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.4% to $63.90 a barrel.
Both benchmarks had settled more than 2% lower on Monday after Iran and the U.S. agreed to commence expert-level discussions to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.