European markets head for upbeat open as positive momentum continues

LONDON — European stocks are expected to open higher on Tuesday as positive new year momentum continues in global markets.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 18 points higher at 7,434, Germany’s DAX is seen 7 points higher at 16,050, France’s CAC 40 up 15 points at 7,244 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 126 points higher at 27,690, according to data from IG.

European stocks kicked off 2022 with a bang on Monday, with most major regional indexes higher on the first trading day of the new year.

There is still much uncertainty around the Covid-19 pandemic, however, with multiple countries around the world reimposing restrictions or lockdowns to stop the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. Inflation and monetary policy will be key themes for 2022, as investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike rates in the coming year to help cool the rise in prices for consumers.

U.S. stock futures were steady in overnight trading on Monday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notched new record closes on the first trading day of 2022.

Meanwhile, shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade, as data showed accelerating Chinese factory activity growth in December.

Investors are keeping an eye on shares of debt-laden China Evergrande Group, which briefly surged more than 6% after resuming trade following a Monday halt before giving up some of those gains. Evergrande announced Tuesday that it saw 443.02 billion yuan (about $67.67 billion) worth in contracted sales of properties in 2021 — a more than 30% plunge from 2020?s figure.

Data releases include preliminary French inflation figures for December, Germany’s unemployment rate in December and the latest Portuguese consumer confidence data.

— CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald and Eustance Huang contributed to this market report.