The vague hope of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine could bring the Dax DE0008469008 another record high on Tuesday after its record high at the start of the week.

One hour before the opening bell, the leading index, the X-Dax DE000A0C4CA0, signaled a 0.1 percent gain to 23,950 points. The EuroStoxx EU0009658145 is also expected to close slightly higher.

Following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump promised immediate negotiations in the Vatican on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Should the talks actually result in a breakthrough, this would remove a long-standing source of uncertainty from the market, commented analyst Thomas Altmann of QC Partners.

Other experts, such as LBBW analyst Uwe Streich, are more skeptical. "Trump's phone call with Putin is turning into a farce," he wrote in a commentary. Putin continues to reject a ceasefire. Nevertheless, Donald Trump described his two-hour phone call with the Russian prime minister yesterday as "excellent."

Among the individual stocks, shares of Gerresheimer DE000A0LD6E6 could be worth a look. The pharmaceutical and cosmetics packaging manufacturer is sticking to its long-term goals. While the company will not yet achieve double-digit growth this year, it will reach the targeted eight to ten percent in the following years, CEO Dietmar Siemssen told the "Börsen-Zeitung" newspaper. The manager remained tight-lipped about negotiations regarding a takeover of the company.

The research firm Jefferies downgraded BASF shares DE000BASF111 from "Buy" to "Hold" and lowered its price target from €52 to €47. Analyst Chris Counihan criticized the Ludwigshafen-based company's continued weakness in its basic chemicals business due to sluggish demand. He therefore cut his forecasts for the current year.

Barclays analyst Gaurav Jain upgraded Schott Pharma DE000A3ENQ51 from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight." He believes the drug storage and delivery specialist will achieve sustained double-digit growth and increasing profitability.

Fuel cell specialist SFC Energy DE0007568578 started the year with losses. However, SFC described the declines in sales and operating profit as expected. The Management Board reaffirmed its annual targets for the year.

At the IT security company Secunet DE0007276503, current CEO Axel Deininger is unexpectedly resigning this Tuesday. Deininger's contract was originally scheduled to run until the end of December.