European and US stocks slip into the red as rate cut uncertainty rules

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Here's Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at online trading platform IG on what's moving today:

"While the gold price hit a new record high on Tuesday, with the silver price playing catch up and nearing its December and March peaks, the oil price remains on track for its fourth straight day of gains amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East."

Here's what the US's major indexes are doing at the opening bell:

Mortgage approvals rose in February and topped 60,000 for the first time since Liz Truss’s mini-budget crisis sent the lending market into turmoil.

The number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers increased from 56,100 in January to 60,400 in February, according to Bank of England (BoE) data. Banks raced at the start of the year to offer lower mortgage rates to buyers as markets predicted several interest rate cuts in 2024.

This represents a month-over-month increase of 7.7% and a 39.8% surge year-over-year compared to February 2023, which recorded 43,207 approvals. This also puts mortgage approvals at their highest level since September 2022, when they reached 65,349.

Approvals for remortgaging also increased in February, from 30,900 to 37,700, according to the BoE’s Money and Credit report.

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US stocks are wavering in premarket. The opening bell is in about three hours:

Here are our trending tickers for Tuesday: Tesla, Shell, UBS, Xiaomi

Mining stocks like Glencore, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Anglo American are in the green this morning, pushing the FTSE 100 up.

Susannah Streeter from Hargreaves Lansdown says this is due to positive news in the Chinese economy:

Top lines from the latest PMI manufacturing release from S&P Global have struck a positive tone, with some caveats about supply chains:

• Manufacturing PMI at 50.3 in March (any score above 50 indicates growth).

• Business optimism rises to 11-month high.

"Potential blockers remain such as continued weak export performance and supply chain stresses, with the neighbouring EU market the main drag on overseas demand and the Red Sea crisis still impacting supply chains," said Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "Signs from the survey that the impact of both of these factors is easing is therefore welcome news.”

The Bank of England's data on consumer credit flows are reported in net terms — new credit extended less the amount repaid on existing credit but excluding write-offs, revaluations or other changes in the stock.

UBS (UBS) stock regained ground in premarket trade on Tuesday, after losses on Monday, as it announced a new share buyback programme of up to $2bn.

The scheme will begin on Wednesday 3 April, and builds on a $5.2bn buyback undertaken in 2022.

"As previously communicated, in 2024 we expect to repurchase up to $1bn of our shares, commencing after the completion of the merger of UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG which is expected to occur by the end of the second quarter," the bank said in a statement.

"Our ambition is for share repurchases to exceed our pre-acquisition level by 2026."

Here's our reporter Pedro Goncalves' take

UK house prices fell for the first time in three months as high mortgage rates continued to hit the market, according to Nationwide.

Property values fell by 0.2% between February and March, the Nationwide house price index showed, although they were up 1.6% compared to the same month last year.

The average home was worth £261,142 as buyers were hit with the impact of interest rates which have stood at 5.25% since August last year.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Activity has picked up from the weak levels prevailing towards the end of 2023 but remain relatively subdued by historic standards.

Read more: UK house prices fall for first time in three months

Herethe top lines from Nationwide's data release:

• UK house prices fell by 0.2% in March, after taking account of seasonal effects. Nevertheless, the annual rate of house price growth edged higher to 1.6% in March, from 1.2% in February.

• Northern Ireland was the best performing region, with prices up 4.6%.

• South West was the weakest performing region, with prices down 1.7% over the year.

"Higher mortgage rates do remain a concern for many buyers and will continue to influence the price they are able to pay to a degree," said Foxtons CEO, Guy Gittins. "However, with interest rates expected to fall this year, market confidence is high and we’re continuing to see buyers move forward with their plans to purchase undeterred.”

As food price inflation has slowed the data from February also showed:

• Shop price annual inflation eased to 1.3% in March, down from 2.5% in February. This is below the three-month average rate of 2.2%.

• Non-food inflation fell to 0.2% in March, down from 1.3% in the preceding month. This is below the three-month average rate of 0.9%. Inflation is its lowest since January 2022.

• Food inflation decelerated to 3.7% in March, down from 5.0% in February. This is below the three-month average rate of 4.8% and is the tenth consecutive deceleration in the food category. Inflation is its lowest since April 2022.

• Fresh food inflation slowed further in March, to 2.6%, down from 3.4% in February. This is below the three-month average rate of 3.6%. Inflation is its lowest since November 2021.

• Ambient food inflation decelerated to 5.2% in March, down from 7.2% in February. This is below the three-month average rate of 6.6% and is the lowest since June 2022.

Our US team writes:

US stocks finished mixed to kick off 2024's second quarter as US treasury yields rose.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) closed slightly higher, though off its earlier session highs.

US bonds sold off as the benchmark 10-year Treasury (^TNX) yield rose 12 basis points to 4.32%, inching toward its highest level of the year.

Data released on Monday showed the US manufacturing sector is in its strongest position since 2022, raising questions over whether the economy is accelerating and its impact on the Federal Reserve's path on interest rates.

As Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer reported, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing PMI indicated the manufacturing sector moved into expansion for the first time since September 2022. Meanwhile, a measure from S&P Global showed production hit a 22-month high last month as the US economy continues to impress.

Asian stocks saw a mixed day of trade overnight, with notable gains from the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong, which was supported by a surge in Xiaomi Corporation's shares following the launch of its SU7 electric vehicle. The index rose 2% while the car company was up 9% on the day.

Meanwhile the Nikkei (^N225) in Japan rose 0.1%, gliding just shy of the symbolic 40,000 mark.

Hello from London, where markets are about to get going after the long weekend. FTSE 100 is looking at a positive open, as is the pan-European Stoxx 600. Let's get to it.