Economic calendar: Earnings from Coca-Cola and IBM

• European markets seen opening higher

• Earnings from Coca-Cola, IBM and United Airlines

• Tensions between Russia and Ukraine mount

Stock markets in Europe are expected to open slightly higher today. German DAX is seen launching cash trading near 15,500 pts mark - fresh all-time high. Reports saying that Biden is reportedly ready to accept a corporate tax hike to 25%, instead of 28%, are supporting sentiment.

Economic calendar is light today, as is usually the case for Mondays. Canadian housing starts data for March will be released in the early afternoon but it rarely has an impact on the market. Investors will be offered reports from 3 major US companies - Coca-Cola, IBM and United Airlines.

A developing story to watch is the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border. Tensions between the two countries are on the rise and Russia decided to amass troops near the border while also boosting the presence of its war fleet on the Black Sea. The United Kingdom also decided to move its navy into Black Sea amid mounting tensions in the region. At this point it is hard to tell whether it is just a high-profile brinkmanship from Russia or whether a real conflict is looming.

1:15 pm BST - Canada, housing starts for March. Expected: 250k. Previous: 245.9k

Noteworthy US earnings reports

• Coca-Cola (KO.US) - before market open

• IBM (IBM.US) - after market close

• United Airlines Holdings (UAL.US) - after market close