LONDON — European stocks are expected to open slightly higher Tuesday as traders digest the first executive orders that newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Monday.
The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 10 points higher at 8,531, Germany’s DAX up 4 points at 21,004, France’s CAC 40 7 points higher at 7,740 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 44 points at 36,326, according to data from IG.
Global investors will be assessing the potential impact of Trump’s second term in office following his inauguration as the 47th president of the U.S. on Monday. After the ceremony, Trump signed some of his first executive orders before an audience of 20,000 supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
Trump issued “full pardons” to approximately 1,500 people who were charged in relation to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He also signed an executive order which effectively paused the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S.
Trump also said Monday that tariffs of 25% could be levied against Mexico and Canada as soon as early February.
In other news, European market investors will be keeping an eye on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. The annual event, which attracts heads of government and business leaders from around the world, steps up a gear on Tuesday.
While some are skipping Davos — the leaders of China, India and a number of key European leaders are absent this year — Trump is due to address participants via videolink on Thursday.
On Tuesday, there are a number of keynote speeches, with Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, set to speak at 10:50 a.m. Davos time (9:50 a.m. London time). Shortly after, Ding Xuexiang, the vice premier of China, will give a keynote speech at 11:20 a.m.
Follow CNBC’s WEF live blog here
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will address the forum at 2 p.m. local time and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak at 2:30 p.m. The forum will be a crucial platform for the president to present Ukraine’s case ahead of likely pressure from Trump to reach a ceasefire with Russia to end the war.
Later in the afternoon, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, will give a keynote at 3:45 p.m. Davos time.
There are no major earnings releases due in Europe Tuesday. Data releases include the U.K. unemployment rate for November and the ZEW indicator of European economic sentiment data.