LIVE MARKETS-Europe before the bell: Futures higher, but no one knows what to think

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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES HIGHER, BUT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TO THINK

Futures are pointing to decent gains for European stocks at the open, though its hard to feel anyone has any huge confidence in the move which comes on the back of President Donald Trump's claim the U.S. is in negotiations to end the war.

Tehran's military has rejected the claim, and Iran and Israel exchanged airstrikes on Wednesday.

There are various other reports swirling around too, and no one really knows what to believe, but so far it has been enough to keep Brent June futures at $96 a barrel LCOcv1.

And so European stock futures are in an upbeat mood, Euro STOXX 50 futures are up 0.8%, FTSE futures are 0.6% higher. STXEc1, FFIc1

Stocks mostly will be concentrating on war headlines, but if you want some corporate news, Spanish drugmaker Grifols GRLS.MC said on Tuesday it has approved a U.S. initial public offering of its U.S. biopharma business.

Tech stocks could be affected by Arm Holdings ARM.O announcing on Tuesday a new artificial intelligence data centre chip which it said will add billions of dollars of revenue and represent a significant shift in the company's strategy.

(Alun John)

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