A busy Wednesday sees European banks take the spotlight, with the focus on whether gains from higher interest rates have run out of steam and if recent political drama is weighing on sentiment.
The euro zone's two largest lenders by market value, Spain's Santander (BME: ) and France's BNP Paribas (OTC: ), are due to report for the April to June period, alongside Germany's Deutsche Bank and Italy's UniCredit.
A gauge of the top 10 European luxury stocks is already down 2.6% in July, set for a fifth straight month in the red after a profit warning from smaller label Burberry last week.
Beyond earnings, attention will also be on PMI data in Europe that will allow investors to gauge the health of the economy and ascertain whether the European Central Bank will cut interest rates in September.
Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:Economic events: July PMI data from France, Germany, Britain and euro zoneEarnings: Reckitt Benckiser (LON: ), Santander, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit(By Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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