·       European stocks open higher Tuesday morning, with market participants braced for a showdown in Westminster over the U.K. government’s Brexit plan.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up by 0.8 percent with almost every sector in positive territory.

Market focus is largely attuned to an all-important vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s much-maligned Brexit deal on Tuesday.

·       Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, supported by a bounce in Chinese shares amid hopes for government stimulus, while sterling braced for the vote in parliament over the British government’s plan to exit the European Union.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS recovered from early losses and advanced 1.3 percent. South Korea's Kospi .KS11 hit a one-month high and Japan's Nikkei .N225 added 1 percent.

·       China stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Life Insurance, Technology Hardware & Equipment and Technology sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Shanghai, the Shanghai Composite added 1.36%, while the SZSE Component index gained 1.86%.

·       The Hang Seng Index surged 1.6 per cent per cent, or 425.33 points, to 26,723.66 by the midday break, which was its highest intraday level since December 5.