U.S. equities markets looked headed for a tepid opening this European afternoon after all three major indexes rose Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, in fact, finished above its 200-day moving average for the first time since April. Investors will be watching July industrial and manufacturing output numbers in the U.S. later on during the trading hours. U.S. President Joe Biden is set to sign a climate and tax package and there are primaries in Alaska and Wyoming.

Meanwhile, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, the U.S. Homebuilder sentiment fell into negative territory this month. Other than a brief moment in the early days of the Covid pandemic, it’s the first time that’s happened since 2014. Tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and persistently elevated construction costs have brought on a housing recession.

Corporatewise, Home Depot (HD) announced that its net sales in the second quarter of 2022 increased on a yearly basis by $2.7 billion, which is 6.5% higher than this time last year. The sales amount to $43.8 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2022. The diluted income per share rose 11.5% on a year-to-year basis to $5.05, with the net earnings standing at $5.2 billion.

Walmart (WMT) reported its Q2 revenue for fiscal 2023 increased by 8.4% to $152.9 billion and exceeded market expectations, adding that the company maintained its outlook for the remainder of the year. Operating income remained mostly unchanged at $6.9 billion. Walmart stock gained 3.7% in premarket trading following the earnings announcement.

In Europe, The German DAX rose by 0.61% at the time of writing, while the British FTSE 100 grew 0.71%, and the French CAC 40 traded 0.40% higher. Both the euro and the pound traded relatively unchanged against the dollar to sell for 1.01600 and 1.20517, respectively. According to the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) report, Germany's economic sentiment index tumbled in August past market estimates to negative -55.3 points, while the current situation index also declined but topped expectations at -47.6 points. The economic sentiment across the euro area plunged to -54.9 points.

China's Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) plans to sell all or a bulk of its $24 billion stake in food delivery firm Meituan to placate domestic regulators and monetise an 8-year-old investment.