Live Markets: Europe before the bell: futures signal a small bounce

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29/04/2026 07:30

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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES SIGNAL A SMALL BOUNCE

European stock index futures are trading slightly higher on Wednesday, as major bourses look set to recover from an extended drop, with efforts to end the war in Iran at an impasse.

Euro STOXX 50 futures STXEc1 are up about 0.2%. The index has fallen daily over the last seven trading sessions and touched its lowest since April 8 in yesterday's trading session.

That has coincided with a steady rise in Brent crude futures LCOcv1, which rose to their highest since March 31 on Tuesday.

It's a busy day on the earnings front, particularly for banks. AstraZeneca AZN.L, UBS UBSG.S, Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE, Lloyds LLOY.L, GSK GSK.L, Adidas ADSGn.DE, TotalEnergies  TTEF.PA, Santander SAN.MC and Mercedes-Benz MBGn.DE have all reported results before the bell.

On the M&A front, Finnish lift maker Kone KNEBV.HE said it had agreed to buy German rival TK Elevator in a deal worth 29.4 billion euros.

Looking ahead, the Fed will announce its policy decision after the European market close. Markets expect the central bank to refrain from taking any policy action at the meeting, the likely last under Chair Jerome Powell's stewardship.

(Samuel Indyk)

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Inflation by Fed chair https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-FED/gkvlkqoeapb/chart.png