European markets are slightly higher in mixed early trading; Ocado is up 7.5%.

European markets are slightly higher in mixed early trading; Ocado is up 7.5%.

European markets rose slightly in mixed morning trading after a quiet previous session.

 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.05% in early trading, while sectors traded in mixed territory. Shares in the travel sector fell 1.15%, while automakers rose 0.65%.

 

Tuesday's session contains no corporate earnings information. Wholesale price data is due out of Germany.

 

Investors continue to weigh the prospect of a June rate cut by the European Central Bank after two key policymakers backed the prospect on Monday.

 

"Thanks to this disinflationary process, inflation is steadily approaching our 2% target and it is therefore time to ease monetary policy stance and start cutting rates in June," ECB Governing Council member Olli Rehn said in a statement.

 

Meanwhile, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told the Financial Times, "Barring any major surprises, we see enough reason to lift the cap at the moment."

 

The comments add to speculation that the ECB may outperform the Federal Reserve, which has become more cautious in its assessments of the path of inflation.

 

U.S. stock futures rose Monday night as momentum returned after markets were closed Monday for Memorial Day. Meanwhile, in the Asia-Pacific region, markets were mixed as investors considered the outlook for global interest rates.

 

Shares in online food retailer Ocado jumped to the top of the Stoxx 600, up 7.2%, after the company last week announced a deal with Turkish delivery company Getir to gain access to its former UK customers.

 

On the other hand, shares in Swiss insurer Helvetia fell 4.7%, with the insurance sector also down.

 

- Karen Gilchrist

 

European stocks will open mixed on Tuesday as UK markets reopen after a public holiday on Monday.

 

Britain's FTSE 100 index opened 7 points lower at 8,327, France's CAC 40 was up 17 points at 8,126, Germany's DAX was up 20 points at 18,780 and Italy's FTSE MIB was up 57 points at 34,899, according to IG data.

 

- Karen Gilchrist

The global semiconductor industry is poised for "revolutionary change," Citi said, naming stocks to play."

 

"We believe semiconductor architecture will evolve to integrate memory and logic for artificial intelligence computing," the investment bank's analysts said.

 

In addition to Nvidia, Citi named five stocks to play, and analysts give two of them upside potential of at least 30%.

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