shares, news, data and earnings

CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche and Geoff Cutmore discuss the news that Sergio Ermotti will replace current UBS CEO Ralph Hamers.

European stock markets were up in early trade on Wednesday, with the pan-regional Stoxx 600 index up 0.5% at 08:20 London time.

France’s CAC 40 rose by 0.65%, Germany’s DAX by 0.42% and Britain’s FTSE 100 by 0.26%.

Banks extended the previous session’s gains, climbing 0.5%.

UBS on Wednesday appointed Sergio Ermotti as its new CEO, following the recent acquisition agreement with Credit Suisse.

The move takes effect on April 5.

Current CEO Ralph Hamers will remain at UBS and work alongside Sergio P. Ermotti to advise the bank during a transition period.

Read the whole story here.

— Joanna Tan, Jihye Lee

Markets have been hit by volatility over the past month, leading some retail investors to question where to park their money.

If you had $10,000 to invest, where would you put it amidst the uncertainty, and how much should you allocate to each asset class? CNBC Pro talks to portfolio managers and investors to find out.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Equity markets have been on an upward trend in the first quarter of 2023, with the S&P 500 and MSCI World Index on track to achieve more than 4% in total gains.

This is particularly noteworthy after a year of negative returns.

Here, CNBC Pro subscribers can read how the markets have performed under similar conditions historically.

– Ganesh Rao

European markets are heading for a generally higher opening on Wednesday.

Britain’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 2 points lower at 7,485, Germany’s DAX 35 points higher at 15,175, France’s CAC up 15 points at 7,103 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 57 points higher at 25,915, according to data from IG.

The earnings are set to come from Next and data releases will include Italian and Russian unemployment figures for February.

—Holly Ellyatt