European equity markets were set to open higher on Tuesday, with major indexes on course to hit new record highs as global risk appetite improved and the recent selloff in semiconductor and other artificial intelligence-related stocks appeared to be easing. Investors were also bracing for a fresh wave of economic data and corporate earnings, including France’s latest budget balance and Italy’s retail sales figures.
On the corporate front, UK oil major BP Plc reported its strongest quarterly profit in more than four years, supported by robust refining and trading operations during the Iran war. German pharmaceutical group Bayer AG also surprised markets with an increase in second-quarter profit, underpinned by solid results in its crop science division. Other key earnings reports due later in the day include HSBC Holdings, Continental and Lufthansa. In premarket trading, futures on both the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Stoxx 600 were up about 0.4%.