European stocks just higher; Powell testimony in spotlight By

By Peter Nurse 

- European stock markets traded marginally higher in tight ranges Tuesday,Trading community with investors wary ahead of keenly-awaited testimony from Fed chief Jerome Powell to Congress. 

At 03:50 ET (08:50 GMT), the in Germany traded 0.1% higher, the in France climbed 0.1% and the in the U.K. traded 0.1% higher.

European equities have traded in a subdued manner Tuesday, with the main focus of investors on the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's before Congress, starting with the Senate Banking Committee later Tuesday.

Powell talked about a "disinflationary process" at his last press conference, but inflation has surprised to the upside since then and investors will be looking for any message about the future pace of increases.

Back in Europe, has also proved to be stickier than previously expected, prompting Austrian central bank chief Robert Holzmann, a known hawk, on Monday to call for the European Central Bank to lift by 50 basis points at each of its next four meetings. 

rose 1% on the month in January, after gaining a revised 3.4% the prior month, with the manufacturing sector in Europe’s biggest economy providing grounds for optimism. 

Additionally, rose 1.1% in February, according to data from mortgage lender Halifax, pointing to resilience in the country’s property market despite several interest rate rises.

In the corporate sector, Brenntag (ETR:) stock rose 2.2% after Bloomberg reported that the German chemicals distributor is considering buying back at least 5% of its shares. 

Wood Group (LON:) stock soared 14% after the engineering services company said it has received a fourth bid from Apollo Global Management (NYSE:) and held the door open to talks with the U.S. private equity group, but said the new offer still undervalues the company. 

Oil prices edged lower, falling back from multi-week highs on renewed optimism that China will see a strong economic recovery this year, resulting in increased crude demand from the world’s largest importer.

Crude prices were initially dented by a softer-than-expected Chinese GDP forecast for the year, but data released late Monday showed the Asian giant logged a record in February.

The , an industry group, releases its weekly estimate of U.S. inventories later in the session.

By 03:50 ET, futures traded 0.2% lower at $80.28 a barrel, near a three-week high, while the contract fell 0.2% to $85.97, around a five-week high. 

Additionally, fell 0.1% to $1,851.95/oz, while traded 0.1% lower at 1.0674.

Statement: The content of this article does not represent the views of FTI website. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment suggestions. Investment is risky, so you should be careful in your choice! If it involves content, copyright and other issues, please contact us and we will make adjustments at the first time!