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European stocks are set to open slightly higher Wednesday morning, with EU leaders likely to grant British Prime Minister Theresa May a second delay to Brexit.
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The FTSE 100 is seen little changed from the previous session at 7,427, the CAC is expected to open up around 7 points at 5,443, while the DAX is poised to start 26 points higher at 11,876, according to IG.
Market focus is largely to attuned to global trade developments, after the U.S. and Europe locked horns over tariffs in the previous session.
President Donald Trump threatened to impose charges on $11 billion worth of European Union products on Tuesday, escalating tensions in a long-running transatlantic aircraft subsidy dispute.
Global economic growth was another sore point for risk asset markets. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for world economic growth this year, saying a slowdown could force world leaders to coordinate stimulus measures.
The IMF also sharply downgraded growth in the euro zone economy, adding to building pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) ahead of its meeting later in the session.
Policymakers at the ECB will meet in Frankfurt on Wednesday, with investors set to closely monitor the central bank’s monetary policy decisions at around 12:45 p.m. London time.
Elsewhere, European Council President Donald Tusk has said the EU should consider offering the U.K. a “flexible” delay to Brexit of up to a year.
His comments come ahead of an emergency summit in Brussels, where leaders are set to decide whether to offer Britain another delay to the Brexit process.
The U.K. is currently due to leave the EU at 11:00 p.m. London time on Friday.