With the U.K. returning after a day of holiday, European stock markets are due to begin higher on Tuesday, ahead of this week's important economic data releases.

As U.S. equities concluded Monday with gains, these gains spread to Asian trading, and European markets are prepared to follow Wall Street's lead. The British indexes are poised to take the lead as they surpass the gains made on Monday when London was off-the-clock.

According to statistics released earlier on Tuesday, the forward-looking GfK consumer climate index for Germany came in at -25.5 in September, down marginally from the previously reported -24.6 in August.

The largest economy in the eurozone, Germany, is struggling due to a sharp decline in industrial production, as evidenced by figures released last week indicating that there was no growth in the second quarter.

Consumer pricing data for August is also released this week; the eurozone CPI is predicted to show a slight decline in the annual release to 5.1% from 5.3% in July.

The European Central Bank will next convene in September, and given the weakening economy, it may decide to halt its tightening cycle then. But given that inflation is still far higher than its medium-term aim of 2%, another 25bp increase is still expected to occur before the year is over.

Investors will probably pay special attention to UBS this week as the quarterly earnings season steadily draws to an end.

The Swiss banking behemoth will release its first financial report on Thursday following its acquisition of Swiss competitor Credit Suisse, providing fresh insight into the effects of the transaction and the inner workings of the new banking behemoth.

Tuesday's oil trading was basically unchanged as traders cautiously await crucial economic data that is coming later in the week and might have an impact on the direction of U.S. interest rates as well as give clues about future Chinese demand.

Additionally, traders will be monitoring the course of Tropical Storm Idalia, which is anticipated to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday and may result in some production halts in the Gulf of Mexico oil-producing region.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)