British companies' profitability dropped to its lowest in more than a decade in the final three months of 2019, when concerns about Brexit and political uncertainty - rather than the coronavirus - were to the fore, official data showed on Tuesday.
Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday as optimism about the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions reassured markets, although traders remained cautious with storage capacities filling up fast and supply cuts not deep enough to counter falling demand.
U.S. stock index futures climbed higher on Tuesday ahead of the next round of quarterly earnings reports, with investors also keenly looking at the safety of reopening economies hit hard by the coronavirus-induced shutdowns.
PepsiCo Inc beat first quarter revenue estimates, but ditched its full-year forecast on Tuesday, citing uncertainty around the globe due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Global vehicle sales by Japanese automakers dropped by 34% in March when the coronavirus outbreak spread worldwide, and are set to fall further in the months ahead as the crisis continues.
The idea of German flagship carrier Lufthansa using a type of protection from creditors is not yet off the table, a source at the airline said on Tuesday.
Lufthansa and the Berlin government are pursuing a 9 billion euro ($9.76 billion) rescue package for the airline, company and government sources said on Tuesday, but gave no timing for an agreement after a report overnight said the deal was complete.
Southwest Airlines Co posted on Tuesday a $94 million net loss in the first quarter, its first quarterly loss in nine years, due to the coronavirus pandemic and said it sees no major improvement in air travel in the second quarter.
Investors already know how the coronavirus outbreak has hurt Ford Motor Co's bottom line, so when the automaker releases first-quarter results on Tuesday they will focus on how and when Ford plans to restart North American operations.
Europe's biggest copper smelter Aurubis is set to win EU antitrust approval for its planned 380-million-euro ($412 million) acquisition of Belgian-Spanish metal recycling group Metallo, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The world's largest wealth manager, UBS , reported a 40% rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, with its core business enjoying its best three months since 2008, thanks to a restructure and rich clients reshuffling portfolios to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
Merck & Co Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday on strong demand for its blockbuster cancer drug, Keytruda, but expects coronavirus-led lockdowns to weigh on the treatment's sales in the next few quarters.
Lufthansa might seek some form of protection from creditors while talking to the Berlin government about a 9 billion euro ($9.76 billion) rescue package, a company source said on Tuesday after government and airline sources said talks on a deal were continuing.
When Microsoft Corp reports earnings on Wednesday, analysts expect some areas of its business to take a hit from the novel coronavirus pandemic, with lower-than-expected sales in areas like advertising on its LinkedIn social network.
Millions of Americans who have been thrown out of work during the coronavirus pandemic have been unable to register for unemployment benefits since the U.S. economy entered a free fall, according to a poll released on Tuesday.