European stocks are set to open mixed this morning, with investors focused on strong first quarter economic data from Germany as the region's benchmark test multi-year highs.
Britain's FTSE 100 is expected to open modestly lower, according to financial bookmakers IG, as the strength of the pound continues to cap gains for a benchmark in which nearly 75% of constituency revenues come from outside of the United Kingdom.
In Europe, however, investors are expecting another positive open at the bell after data showing Germany's economy grew at the fastest rate in more than a year in the first quarter as the engine room of the European recovery expands at a faster pace than both the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Germany GDP was estimated to have expanded at a 0.6% clip in the first three months of the year, according to Destatis, up from a 0.% pace in the final quarter of last year and largely in-line with analysts' estimates. When compared to the same period last year, the economy -- Europe's largest -- grew by 1.7%.
