A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom

Westbrook

Gold made a foray towards the $3,000-an-ounce mark in the

Asia session overnight, touching $2,942, functioning as markets'

release valve for the unpredictability of Donald Trump.

Central banks have been big buyers for months, along with

investors seeking safety. Worries about U.S. tariffs on gold

have also set off a scramble to get the stuff out of London

vaults and across the Atlantic.

Stocks broadly steadied on Tuesday as Trump said he was

considering exempting Australia from steel tariffs, following a

call with Australia's Prime Minister - reinforcing investors'

belief that everything's negotiable.

Trump likes that the U.S. runs a trade surplus with

Australia and said "the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes.

They're rather far away and they need lots of airplanes."

He has vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries over

the next two days.

Markets' focus on Tuesday will likely also be on Fed Chair

Jerome Powell's testimony on Capitol Hill, where he is sure to

be questioned about his thinking on inflation and tariffs.

He is due to appear over two days and on Wednesday his

testimony will follow consumer price data for January.

Markets have already scaled back expected rate cuts this

year to just 38 basis points.

EV MARKET BATTLE INTENSIFIES

A DeepSeek-esque shakeout unfolded among electric vehicle

stocks on Tuesday.

China's BYD has started offering advanced

autonomous driving features on most of its models, including

ones priced as low as $9,555, far undercutting competitors such

as Tesla.

And Leapmotor, the Chinese partner of Stellantis ( STLA )

, launched on Tuesday a new EV with smart driving

technology priced under 150,000 yuan ($20,535).

Tesla shares were down 3% to a two-month low overnight while

shares in Chinese automakers Xpeng and Geely Auto

tumbled in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

BYD's Hong Kong shares, meanwhile, climbed more

than 4% to a record high.

Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:

- Earnings: BP, Banco BPM

- Speeches: BoE's Mann and Bailey

- Jerome Powell testifies to the Senate Banking, Housing and

Urban Affairs Committee