European stock markets started the week on a positive note, appearing to shrug off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 opened 0.35% in positive territory. Regional indexes such as the U.K.’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s MIB were up 0.3% at the open.
It remains to be seen whether European markets can evade negative sentiment that’s denting investor confidence elsewhere; Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight as escalating trade tensions kept investors on edge.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he was planning to announce a blanket 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday, according to Reuters. Last Friday, the three key U.S. indexes fell after Trump said he was planning reciprocal tariffs on trading partners. Shares of Europe’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal were among the biggest decliners in the Stoxx 600.
Meanwhile, shares in BP rose by more than 8% after reports of activist investor Elliott Management building a stake in the company.
Major data releases this week include U.S. inflation data on Wednesday, German inflation and U.K. gross domestic product figures on Thursday and the latest quarterly European growth data on Friday.
Earnings come from Mediobanca on Monday. Other reports to look out for on Monday include the Munich Security Report. The annual report is published ahead of the MSC Munich Security Conference which begins on Friday, and serves as a basis for discussion at the conference.
