(Alliance News) - European stock markets opened in the red Tuesday as investors express caution ahead of U.S. inflation data and this week's European Central Bank meeting, looking to gauge the outlook for global rates and inflation.

The ECB is expected to keep rates at record levels on Thursday, but a mention of a first rate cut in June is also expected.

Thus, the FTSE Mib trades down 0.4 percent at 34,185.28 points, while put/call volumes indicate a ratio of 0.31.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is giving up 0.1 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is giving up 0.4 percent, and Paris' CAC 40 is marking minus 0.3 percent.

Among the smaller listings, the Mid-Cap is giving up 0.4 percent to 47,769.77, the Small-Cap is fractionally advancing 28,524.25, and Italy Growth is giving up 0.1 percent to 8,135.17.

On the Mib, among the few bullish performers is DiaSorin, which is marking plus 1.0% with new price at EUR86.68 per share. UBS has initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' recommendation and target price of EUR105.00.

Iveco, on the other hand, is advancing 0.9 percent to EUR14.68, after updating its annual high to EUR14.80 per share.

Snam -- in the red by 0.2 percent -- announced on Monday that it had completed the issuance of a EUR750 million floating-rate bond, two-year term and coupon papri at three-month Euribor plus 0.4 percent. The company explained that the transaction is part of its strategy to optimize the cost of debt, which is expected to average 2.6 percent over the plan period.

Amplifon, on the other hand, is stepping back 4.0 percent to EUR31.17 per share, after 1.9 percent green on the eve.

On the MidCap, good buying on SOL, which brings the price up 4.8% to EUR34.80, on the heels of eve's 1.5% gain.

Fincantieri--up 4.3%--reported that it has received an order to build four new generation cruise ships from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. In detail, two ships will be for the Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand and two for Oceania Cruises. The former are expected to be delivered in 2026 and the latter in 2029.

Digital Value, on the other hand, is surrendering 1.9 percent after a 1.1 percent green light on eve. The stock was previously coming off four bearish sessions.

GVS, on the other hand, is marking minus 1.5 percent. It should be noted that the stock-which came from two bullish sessions-has increased its market cap by more than 25 percent in the past six months.

On the SmallCap, Eems is advancing 4.0% to EUR0.2710, rebounding after six sessions closed among the bearish.

Centrale del Latte d'Italia is advancing 3.6 percent with new price at EUR2.86. The stock - rated on the Marketscreener platform by a single analyst - has a fair value of EUR4.00, thus being under-priced by 45 percent.

Piquadro - still flat at EUR1.90 - continues steadily with its buyback program. The company most recently announced on Monday that it bought back its own ordinary shares between April 2 and 5 for a total value of EUR40,000 or so.

Among SMEs, Compagnia dei Caraibi advances well, leading the price up 8.4 percent, after the eve's 2.7 percent decline.

Crowdfundme, on the other hand, marks a plus 3.8%, confirming the good performance on the weekly frame marking a plus 4.8%.

CleanBnB - up 0.7% to EUR1.36 - reported that it closed the first quarter with a gross booking value of EUR6.8 million, up 37% year-on-year. In the first three months of the year, the company reached 2,642 properties, spread across 80 Italian locations and managed exclusively, while stays managed by CleanBnB increased 38% to 19,755 compared to the same period in 2023.

In New York, the Dow closed just below par as did the S&P, while the Nasdaq closed in marginal green.

In Asia, the Hang Seng advanced 0.7 percent, the Shanghai Composite marked a plus 0.1 percent, while the Nikkei picked up 1.1 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0862 from USD1.0851 on Monday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2663 from USD1.2655 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD90.56 a barrel from USD90.09 last night and gold trades at USD2,345.63 from USD2,329.48 last night.

In the afternoon, consumer inflation expectations will be released from the US at 1700 CEST.

In the stock market, the results of Greenthesis and KME Group are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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