LONDON — European stocks are expected to open higher on Tuesday as investors look ahead to the next U.S. inflation reading on Wednesday.

United Kingdom’s FTSEIndex is opened 31 points higher at 7,464, Germany DAX 78 points higher at 15,886, France’s CAC 40 up 44 points at 7,174 and Italy’s FTSE MIBAccording to data from IG, it was higher at 27300 by 114 points

The latest U.S. inflation data is what is keeping global markets focused. This week’s U.S. consumer price and producer indexes are due to be released Wednesday.

In recent months, consumer prices in the U.S. and Europe have risen. Last Friday inflation in the euro zone hit a new record high in DecemberThis month’s figure was 5% higher than the prior year.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixedOn Tuesday, investors were all concerned by inflation as well as possible policy tightenings from central banks like U.S. Federal Reserve.

Investors around the world will also be searching for clues from Fed officials regarding when interest rate increases will occur. The confirmation hearing of Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman, will take place on Tuesday. Kansas City Fed President Esther George is also scheduled to speak about on economic policy, as is St. Louis Fed president James Bullard later in the day.

U.S. futures were flat overnight after the major averages extended declines on Monday, except the Nasdaq which managed to snap a four-day losing streak.

The latest data releases include U.K. GDP readings for November and November. Also, U.K. industrial output and manufacturing output November. Additionally, there are statistics on Greek unemployment for November.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel contributed to this market report.