European markets close slightly lower as global sentiment remains on edge

Martin Jackson, head of battery raw materials at CRU, says the lithium, cobalt and nickel markets are generally oversupplied and "it will continue to be like that for several years."

Swiss health-care company Roche on Monday announced it would acquire Telavant Holdings in a $7.1 billion transaction.

Telavant produces drugs for people suffering from inflammatory and fibrotic diseases and is in the process of developing a "promising new therapy" for patients with Crohn's disease, Roche said in a press release.

The terms of the acquisition include a near-term milestone payment of $150 million.

Shares of Roche were mostly unchanged in early trading after the announcement.

Read the full story here.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

UniCredit applied to become the biggest investor in Greece's Alpha Bank, the Italian bank announced, by acquiring a 9% stake from Greece's bank bailout fund, Reuters reported.

UniCredit will also merge its Romanian subsidiary with Alpha's local subsidiary.

Shares of UniCredit were up 1.4% after the announcement, while banking stocks more widely shed 0.2%, in line with the downward trend across sectors.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Shares of Dutch health technology company Philips were down 4% in early trade, despite raising its full-year outlook on strong third-quarter profits.

Philips beat analysts' expectations for core profit and comparable sales, but the company did report a 9% drop in new orders as China demand continued to soften after the pre-pandemic boom.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

European markets opened mixed Monday as investors continue to monitor economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and look ahead to a busy week for earnings and the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy decision.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was flat at market open, with sectors spread across tentatively positive and negative territory. Retail stocks made the biggest gains with a 0.6% uptick, while oil and gas dropped 1%.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Parents thinking of saving for their children's college education in around a decade could be in for some sticker shock.

In 10 years, tuition fees in the U.S. could soar to over $300,000, thanks to inflation — that's around twice the cost right now, according to estimates from experts CNBC Pro spoke to.

Here's the cost breakdown and how to invest, according to those experts.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

A tech giant could act as a defensive stock if the U.S. enters a mild recession next year, according to UBS analyst Karl Keirstead.

The investment bank's economics team forecasts a mild recession in the United States next year, which could pressure broader equity markets.

Keirstead believes the Big Tech stock has "full geographic coverage across all industry verticals", which makes it less susceptible to downturns in one area.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are expected to open lower Tuesday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 43 points lower at 8,381, Germany's DAX down 60 points at 18,708, France's CAC 33 points lower at 8,139 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 140 points at 34,788, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Kingfisher, Smiths Group, Fresnillo and Generali. Euro zone trade balance and construction data for March are due.

— Holly Ellyatt