The European markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, as investors remain concerned over the policy meeting of the Federal Reserve. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to brief media after the meeting, which may answer some investor worries.
A report indicated that the Fed chief may signal that the central bank is close to tapering the $85 billion monthly asset purchase program.
Germany's investor confidence rose more-than-expected in June, after remaining largely unchanged in the previous month, results of a survey by the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research/ZEW showed.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment climbed to 38.5 from 36.4 in May. Economists were looking for a score of 38.1.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the risks taken into the ECB's balance sheets are entirely under control and are accepted only because they are necessary to achieve the primary target of price stability.
Speaking at the farewell conference honoring Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer in Jerusalem, Draghi rejected arguments that the credit risk taken by the ECB on its balance sheets through its non-standard monetary operations imply a violation of its ordoliberal principles.
Sale of new passenger cars in the European Union declined notably in May, data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed. New car registrations in the EU market decreased 5.9 percent on an annual basis to 1,042,742 units, which was the lowest level recorded for the month since 1993 when sales dropped below one million.
Consumer price inflation in the UK accelerated more than expected in May, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed. The rate of inflation rose to 2.7 percent in May from 2.4 percent in April. Economists expected the rate to rise to 2.6 percent
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is falling 0.05 percent , while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.14 percent.
The German DAX is down 0.05 percent and the French CAC 40 is losing 0.15 percent while Switzerland's SMI is down 0.2 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 is advancing 0.8 percent.
In Frankfurt, Infineon Technologies is gaining 2.6 pecent and Lufthansa is adding 1.3 percent.
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are trading higher.
Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are in negative territory, in response to the data on car sales.
Kabel Deutschland is gaining 3.7 percent after Liberty Global made an offer for the company.
In Paris, department store operator Kering is falling 1.4 percent and specialty chemicals firm Solvay is losing around 1 percent.
Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are adding between 1.4 percent and 1 percent.
Lagardere is gaining 1.5 percent after Barclays raised the stock to ''Overweight'' from ''Equalweight.''
In London, EasyJet is gaining 3.6 percent after announcing orders for new aircraft.
Whitbread is gaining 2 percent. The hotel and restaurant group reported growth in total sales and like for like sales for the first quarter, with a strong performance from coffee chain Costa.
Citigroup raised HSBC to ''Buy'' from ''Neutral.'' The stock is rising 2.3 percent. Standard Chartered and Barclays are gaining 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
Aveva is climbing over 6 percent, reportedly on a broker upgrade.
Aggreko is losing around 2 percent. The group expects to deliver results for the first half in line with its expectations.
Danske Bank is losing 6.2 percent in Copenhagen after regulators sought increase in risk-weighted assets.
Imtech is declining 6.4 percent in Amsterdam after announcing first-quarter results.
Across Asia/Pacific, Australia's All Ordinaries and Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.2 percent each while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was unchanged with a negative bias. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street, ahead of reports on consumer prices and housing starts may attract some attention later in the day. In the previous session, the Dow rose 0.7 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added about 0.8 percent each.
In the commodity space, crude for July delivery is falling $0.21 to $97.56 per barrel and August gold is losing $8.7 to $1374.4 a troy ounce.
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