LIVE MARKETS-Europe before the bell: gains ahead of UK budget update

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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: GAINS AHEAD OF UK BUDGET UPDATE

European futures are hinting at modest gains ahead of Wednesday's open, as traders gear up for a tough budget update from UK finance minister Reeves while global trade uncertainty rumbles on.

EuroSTOXX50 STXEc1 futures are up 0.4%, DAX futures FDXc1 are 0.5% higher, and FTSE futures FFIc1 are up 0.3%.

Data showed British inflation slowed to an annual rate of 2.8% in February ahead of Reeves' budget update, which is likely to include cuts to spending.

The EU's trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic met Trump's top trade officials on Tuesday to try to avoid steep U.S. tariffs on EU goods next week, but results of the talks were unclear.

In company news, Porsche PSHG_p.DE, Volkswagen's VOWG_p.DE largest shareholder, said it plans to expand its investments and diversify its holdings, after reporting a 20-billion-euro loss to results after tax because of impairments on its holding of Europe's top carmaker.

Italian cable maker Prysmian PRY.MI forecast its core profit to reach up to 3.15 billion euros ($3.40 billion) in the next three years, up 64% from 2024, boosted in part by its acquisition of U.S. connectivity device manufacturer Channell.

Two years since it acquired Credit Suisse to create a Swiss banking giant, UBS is trying to head off tougher regulations by offering to limit the future size of its investment bank and hold more capital, Reuters reported citing people familiar with discussions said.

(Lucy Raitano)

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