European Markets In Positive Territory As U.S. Tech Stocks Look Set To Rebound

The mood is a bit cautious with investors looking ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy, due on Thursday. Markets are waiting to know the central bank's take on inflation, and whether it plans to check euro's charge.

The ECB is unlikely to announce any big changes to its policy, but might well indicate that it is prepared to loosen policy if required.

A weaker Sterling is supporting British stocks. Travel-related stocks are struggling due to rising coronavirus cases in Europe.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is gaining nearly 0.5%. Among the major indices in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 is up 0.57%, Germany's DAX is gaining 0.71% and France's CAC 40 is advancing 0.3%. Switzerland's SMI is up nearly 0.6%.

In the UK market, Ashtead Group, Royal Dutch Shell, BT Group, Unilever, BP, Vodafone, British American Tobacco, Reckitt Benckiser and GlaxoSmithKline are rising 2 to 3.5%.

EasyJet is declining more than 5%. Meggitt and Rolls-Royce Holdings are also lower by over 5%. Carnival, IAG, TUI, Intercontinental and Pesimmon are down 2 to 4%. Royal Mail is losing more than 3% on profit taking after recent steep rise.

In France, Orange shares are up 4.3%. Technip, Total, Danone, Sanofi, Carrefour, Saint Gobain, STMicroElectronics and Vivendi are gaining 1.5 to 2%.AstraZeneca is down 1.6% after the company announced that it has put a hold on its coronavirus vaccine trials due to safety-concerns. The company said it has halted its late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial due to a potentially unexplained illness in a U.K. volunteer.

On the other hand, Bouygues, Airbus, Safran and Peugeot are down 1.7 to 4.3%. BNP Paribas, Renault and Societe Generale are also down in negative territory, albeit with less pronounced losses.

In the German market, Munich RE, Deutsche Telekom, Merck, Henkel, Vonovia and Allianz are up 1.5 to 3%, while Lufthansa, Wirecard and Volkswagen are down 2.8%, 2.5% and 1.4%, respectively.

In economic news, Switzerland's unemployment rate remained unchange in August, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed. The jobless rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.4% in August, same as seen in July and in line with economists' expectations.