European markets head for a positive open, tracking modest gains on Wall Street

Holly Ellyatt

European markets are heading for a higher open Tuesday, continuing a positive trend set on Monday — one that came after regional markets posted steep declines last week.

The U.K.’s FTSE index and the pound will be closely watched today after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday signed a new trade deal with the European Union designed to remedy problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol. Sterling rose 0.9% against the U.S. dollar on the news Monday, hitting a session high of around $1.2051.

Markets have also been buoyed by an uptick on Wall Street on the final trading day of February, a month that has seen declines for major U.S. indexes. U.S. stocks rose on Monday, however, as traders tried to recover some ground after the worst week of the year on Wall Street. All three major U.S. indexes closed higher, with the Nasdaq Composite leading gains.

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors digested key economic data across the region.

The bear market could resume in March, says Morgan Stanley’s Wilson

The stock market’s recent attempt to pull out of a downtrend could soon come to an end, according to Morgan Stanley.

Mike Wilson, the firm’s chief U.S. equity strategist, said in a note to clients Monday that the S&P 500 is on the verge of falling back into a bear market.

“With the equity market showing signs of exhaustion after the last Fed meeting, the S&P 500 is at critical technical support. Given our view on earnings, March is a high risk month for the bear market to resume,” Wilson said.

—Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel

CNBC Pro: ‘Pretty bearish on Tesla’: Market pro says price cuts will hit the EV giant’s share price

Tesla shares are unlikely to make a comeback in part due to the price cuts the EV maker announced late last year, according to veteran investor Mark Hawtin.

GAM Investments’ Hawtin also told CNBC’s Pro Talks that he thinks the automaker’s stock is unlikely to rise back to $300 in the medium term.

— Ganesh Rao

Hong Kong to end mask mandate from March 1

Hong Kong will end its mask mandate for indoors and outdoors on Wednesday, March 1 – its Chief Executive John Lee said in a briefing.

When asked for the reasoning behind the timing, Lee cited “overall assessment” and emphasized that the government had previously said it would be closely monitoring the situation.

Mask rules for hospitals and nursing homes will be “added administratively,” Lee said.

– Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Semiconductors, A.I. and more: These top-rated ETFs offer a way to play tech’s hottest trends

Two tech themes have taken Wall Street by storm so far this year.

One is the return of semiconductor stocks, as demand bounces back for chips; the other is artificial intelligence, following the buzz surrounding chatbot ChatGPT.

CNBC Pro screened for the highest-rated ETFs with exposure to semiconductor and/or AI-related stocks (among others) using Morningstar data. The resulting funds all received a four- or five-star rating by Morningstar, and have performed well over the past three years.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are heading for a positive open Thursday, tracking modest gains on Wall Street.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 36 points higher at 7,940, Germany’s DAX 18 points higher at 15,419, France’s CAC up 8 points at 7,308 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 36 points at 27,504, according to data from IG.

Earnings are set to come from Ocado, Bayer, Man Group, Adecco Group, Atos and Bunzl and data releases include French and Spanish inflation data for February and Germany’s revised gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter.

— Holly Ellyatt

Source : cnbc