Stoxx 600, FTSE 100, MSC, defense
European markets opened higher on Monday as investors digested the highlights of this year’s Munich Security Conference.
Pan-European Stoxx 600 It was up 0.2% at 8:45 a.m. (3:45 a.m. ET) in London; major stock markets and most sectors in the region were in positive territory.
Geopolitics and defense have come to the fore again as investors focus on this year’s Munich Security Conference. Many European leaders and policymakers at the event reiterated the need for more defense spending to accelerate the continent’s strategic autonomy, with discussion of a common nuclear shield.
Although US Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a noticeably more conciliatory tone towards European allies in his speech on Saturday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged a “deep divide” in the transatlantic partnership and warned that the post-World War II rules-based order “no longer exists.”
Also speaking at the MSC, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would be ready to join the EU by 2027 and that the date of accession should be included in any peace agreement with Russia.
In the stock markets, UK lenders NatWest Group It gained 3.6% as it began a £750 million ($1.02 billion) share buyback program on Monday.
Elsewhere, European mining stocks saw the biggest moves lower in the morning’s deals.
Rio Tinto It lost nearly 2% after the multinational mining company suspended work at its Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea late Sunday following a fatality at its SimFer project.
Ahead of its final earnings update on Tuesday, BHP Group fell 2.4 percent glencoreThe company, which was planned to merge with Rio Tinto until the merger was abandoned earlier this month, also lost value, falling 1.7%. Fresnillo decreased by 1.2% and British American It was 0.6% lower.
The FTSE Industrial Metals and Mining Index was last down 1.2%.
In corporate earnings, Airbus, Nestlé And Renault He is among the names that announced the results at the end of this week.
in Asia, Japan Nikkei Economic growth in the country was 0.2% on an annual basis for the December quarter, falling short of the expected 1.6% pressure. Trade was weak elsewhere in the region as markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Meanwhile, stock markets in the US are closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
