European markets held firm on Tuesday ahead of German lawmakers voting on a landmark overhaul to government spending, while uncertainty over a call on Ukraine between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin kept gold at $3,

The euro hit a fresh year-to-date high versus the greenback amid renewed bets that a ramp-up in European defense spending will provide a much-needed boost to the region’s economy.

Germany is expected to pass a major spending bill on defence and infrastructure, allowing the country to unleash hundreds of billions of euros into the economy. Both the euro and Germany’s stock markets may maintain their uptrends amid optimism about the fiscal reform.