Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (L) talks with High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affair)in Paris, on Feb. 12, 2025.
Christophe Petit Tesson | Afp | Getty Images
As the U.S. took a break (from wild overhauls in government policies and its bureaucracy), across the Atlantic, Europe was springing into action to carve a place for the continent in this new world order.
On Monday, European leaders hastily assembled in Paris to discuss plans for peace in Ukraine after they were left out of U.S.-led talks, due to begin Tuesday, between Washington and Moscow on the near three-years Russia-Ukraine war.
The gathering of European heads comes just a day after the conclusion of the Munich Security Conference, which ran Feb. 14 to Feb. 16. At the defense summit, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen gave member states the green light to ramp up spending on defense, amid NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte saying Europe needs to do more if it wants to be heard by the U.S.
Investors, however, clearly got the message about higher defense spending. Shares of Europe defense companies jumped on Monday, pushing Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index to another record high — even as concerns mount that the continent may not be involved in the highest-level negotiations.
What you need to know today
Emergency meeting by Europe
European leaders gathered Monday in Paris for an emergency summit, hastily assembled by French President Emmanuel Macron after it appeared that Europe would be left out of the negotiating table in U.S.-led Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Washington and Moscow are set to meet this week in Saudi Arabia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, said Monday that “Ukraine will not take part. Ukraine did not know anything about it.”
European defense stocks jump
On Monday, the Stoxx Europe Aerospace & Defense index hit a record and shares of Europe defense companies, such as Renk Group and Saab, jumped. They were juiced by European Union President Ursula von der Leyen saying at the Munich Security Conference that member states will be allowed to increase their spending on defense and security without breaching the bloc’s rules on budget deficit spending.
Another high for the Stoxx 600
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Presidents’ Day break. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.54%, regaining lost ground from Friday to close at another record high of 555.42 points. U.K. and euro area bond yields were broadly higher as traders weighed the potential for higher national defense spending following the Munich Security Conference.
Trump-related terms in earnings calls
U.S. companies are fielding growing questions on how U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies on international trade, immigration and diversity will affect business. A CNBC analysis shows words related to those issues are increasingly popping up on the earnings calls of S&P 500-listed companies. Here’s how companies are responding to queries around Trump-related words, such as “tariff,” “DOGE” and “Gulf of America.”
[PRO] Stocks to short: Wolfe Research
Major U.S. benchmarks ended last week in the green to close near their all-time highs. What’s more, this charge forward isn’t led by tech this time, signaling a broadening rally, as CNBC’s Bob Pisani notes. Amid this advance, there are some stocks that may be overextended to the upside, making them prime targets for investors to short, according to Wolfe Research.
And finally…
Tech bosses largely agree the risk DeepSeek poses to OpenAI remains limited for now.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
‘Game on’: Tech execs say DeepSeek ramps up China-U.S. competition but won’t hurt OpenAI
In a series of interviews at France’s Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, leaders of several major tech companies told CNBC that the emergence of DeepSeek demonstrates that China can’t be counted out as a serious player when it comes to AI innovation. “Imagine if there were only two countries in the world that could build electricity at scale. That’s sort of how you have to think about it,” Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer at OpenAI, told CNBC.
Still, tech bosses largely agreed that even though DeepSeek’s breakthrough shows China being further along in the global AI race than previously thought, the threat it poses to OpenAI remains limited for now. “I think the short answer everyone should take is: game on — but large models still really matter,” Reid Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, told CNBC.