European markets close slightly lower as investors look ahead to European Central Bank meeting

European stocks closed slightly lower Monday, with the Stoxx 600 index shedding 0.07% after momentum slowed last week from the early-year rally.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.55% as Germany's DAX fell 0.1% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.28%.

— Jenni Reid

The three major indexes were lower as Monday's trading session kicked off.

The Dow traded down more than 150 points, or around 0.4%, shortly after opening bell. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each slid around 0.1%.

— Alex Harring

Shares of Spanish drugmaker Grifols traded down 7.9% in early deals, continuing its downward momentum after the stock lost 35% on Thursday on the back of poor financial results.

Trading of the stock was halted last week after the company reported a 72% drop in 2023 profit as it continued to push back against a January report from hedge fund Gotham City Research, which called into question Grifols' accounting and debt ratio.

On the other end, Germany's Delivery Hero rose 5.7% after announcing a fresh financing deal including better conditions on existing credit lines.

— Karen Gilchrist

The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady on Thursday even as inflation shows more signs of easing.

ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said Wednesday that it would need to see more data on euro zone inflation — which currently stands at 2.6% — before considering its first rate cut.

"Once our projections indicate that the data we receive, on both headline and core inflation, show that we are getting closer to 2%, then the direction of monetary policy will change," De Guindos told Spanish TV broadcaster Antena 3, according to Reuters.

Analysts from Berenberg Economics are pricing in an initial rate cut in June as the rate of disinflation slows, eventually hitting the bank's 2% target by the third quarter of this year.

— Karen Gilchrist

Hedge fund manager Dan Niles has revealed why like prefers Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon in 2024 over Tesla, Apple and Alphabet.

Niles used the similarities between the launch of Netscape's web browser in 1994 and ChatGPT in late 2022 for hints as to how much further stocks could go.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Japan's Nikkei 225  hit yet another record high to top the 40,000 level Monday. The index was last up 0.8%.

The benchmark index has been on a record rally, which has seen it hitting all-time highs for the first time in 34 years.

Both the Nikkei and the broader Topix have been top performers among major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific. The Nikkei is up over 20% so far this year, while the Topix is up nearly 15%.

Strong earnings and investor-friendly measures by Japan's government have fueled a blistering rally in equities this year.

The broad-based Topix inched 0.1% higher Monday after crossing the 2,700 mark and hitting a record high last Friday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

U.S. Big Tech names were stand-out performers last year as investors piled into the so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.

These stocks – collectively – were behind much of the gains that drove the benchmark S&P 500 Index up by around 25% in 2023.

Veteran investor and trader Adam Reynolds, however, is looking beyond U.S. tech to 10 lesser-known gems across Europe, Japan and Australia.

These stocks, have a market capitalization of over $50 billion and logged a total growth rate of at least 30% returns annually over the last five years.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

European markets are expected to open higher Thursday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 32 points higher at 8,365, Germany's DAX up 25 points at 18,510, France's CAC 7 points higher at 8,143 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 59 points at 33,908, according to data from IG.

Earnings are due from Ferrovial, Telefonica, EDP, Enel, Pirelli and Salvatore Ferragamo.

— Holly Ellyatt