European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Wednesday as global jitters over artificial intelligence tech rivalry between the U.S. and China ease.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 1 point higher at 8,538, Germany’s DAX up 46 points at 21,490, France’s CAC down 16 points at 7,897 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 74 points at 36,406, according to data from IG.
Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML on Wednesday reported better-than-expected net sales and profit for the fourth quarter. Net bookings, a key indicator of order demand, rose 169% from the previous quarter. CNBC will be speaking to the firm’s CEO Christophe Fouquet on “Squawk Box Europe” just after 7 a.m. London time.
The world’s largest luxury company LVMH also outperformed sales forecasts in earnings published after the market close Tuesday.
Sweden’s Riksbank publishes its latest monetary policy decision later this morning.
Other data releases include Germany’s GfK consumer confidence, Spain’s latest quarterly gross domestic product data and Italian business and consumer confidence data.
European stocks closed higher Tuesday, in the wake of a global market sell-off fueled by concerns over a potential AI breakthrough in China. The emergent and unexpected success of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek had sparked concerns over U.S. tech giants’ global leadership.
On Tuesday, all eyes were on Nvidia’s stock, which picked up momentum to close nearly 9% higher. The chipmaker lost 17%, or almost $600 billion in market value, in the previous session to clock the biggest ever one-day drop in value for a U.S. company.
Global market attention turns to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first interest rate decision of 2025 on Wednesday.
Fed funds futures data reflect a nearly 100% certainty that the central bank will keep rates steady at a target range of 4.25% to 4.50%, according to CME Group data. Nonetheless, the decision, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference afterward, will be closely watched for more clues on the outlook for interest rates this year.
