European stock futures edge higher

European stock markets are expected to open in a cautious manner Wednesday amid U.S. debt ceiling uncertainty and ahead of the release of the final eurozone inflation figures for April.

At 06:00 GMT, the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.1% higher, CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.1% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.1%.

The looming U.S. debt ceiling deadline and the potential for a catastrophic U.S. debt default has created a degree of nervousness throughout the global markets, and investors in Europe are no exception.

Talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives, failed to come up with a deal on Tuesday, but an agreement still appears to be a possibility.

“It is possible to get a deal by the end of the week. It’s not that difficult to get to an agreement,” said McCarthy, while the White House described the talks as “productive and direct.”

Back in Europe, the session’s main economic data will be the final eurozone consumer inflation figures for April, which are expected to show that prices remained elevated.

In the corporate sector, the focus will also be on UBS after the Swiss bank flagged a financial hit of about $17 billion from the takeover of Credit Suisse.