The DAX is forecast to start Wednesday's session with gains, according to calculations by banks and brokerage houses.

On Tuesday, Germany's benchmark index rose by 0.6 percent to 24,206 points. Meanwhile, investor sentiment was subdued on Wall Street. During trading, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on copper imports, though he did not specify a date for implementation. The U.S. price for the metal surged more than twelve percent, reaching a record high of $12,330 per ton.

The ongoing trade dispute is set to dominate market activity throughout the day. The European Commission recently emphasized its aim to reach a basic agreement with the United States on the trade conflict by Wednesday, citing progress in the negotiations. Originally, higher U.S. tariffs against the EU were set to take effect from Wednesday unless an agreement was reached. However, President Trump has extended the deadline by about three weeks, pushing it to early August.

Later in the evening, investors will turn their attention to the minutes of the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. Despite pressure from Trump, the independent central bankers left the key interest rate unchanged on June 18. They are seeking greater clarity on how U.S. tariff policy will impact prices and the labor market. Investors hope the minutes, due at 20:00 CEST, will provide insights into how the possibility of interest rate cuts is being assessed in this context. Financial markets do not expect the first monetary policy move downward this year until September at the earliest.

On the corporate front, Commerzbank is likely to come into focus. Italian banking giant UniCredit is emerging as the largest Commerzbank shareholder, increasing pressure in the battle for Germany's second-largest listed lender.

Closing prices of European stock indices and futures on Tuesday

DAX: 24,206.91

EuroStoxx50: 5,371.95

EuroStoxx50 Future: 5,384.00

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Closing prices of U.S. indices on Tuesday (Change in percent)

Dow Jones: 44,240.76   -0.4%

Nasdaq:

S&P 500: 6,225.52   -0.1%

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Asian indices at 07:00 (Change in percent)

Nikkei: 39,789.46   +0.3%

Shanghai: 3,507.69   +0.3%

Hang Seng: 23,963.75   -0.8%

(Reporting by Stefanie Geiger, Daniela Pegna; edited by Elke Ahlswede. For questions, please contact our editorial teams at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)