European markets opened higher on Monday as investors digested the key takeaways from this year’s Munich Security Conference.
pan-european Stocks 600 The index was up 0.2% as of 8:45 a.m. ET in London, with major exchanges and most sectors in the region in positive territory.
Geopolitics and defense are back in the spotlight as investors focus on this year’s Munich Security Conference. At the event, several European leaders and policymakers discussed a common nuclear shield and reiterated the need for increased defense spending to foster the continent’s strategic autonomy.
Despite US Secretary of State Marco Rubio striking a significantly more conciliatory tone toward European allies in a speech on Saturday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged “deep rifts” in the transatlantic partnership and warned that the post-World War II rules-based order “no longer exists.”
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who also spoke at the MSC, said his country was ready to join the EU by 2027 and said a peace deal with Russia should include a accession date.
In the stock market, British financial institutions natwest group It rose 3.6% on Monday as it launched a 750 million pound ($1.02 billion) share buyback program.
Elsewhere, European mining stocks were the biggest movers lower in morning trading.
rio tinto The company suffered a loss of almost 2% after the multinational mining company suspended work at its Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea following a fatal accident at the SimFer project late Sunday.
Ahead of Tuesday’s latest earnings report. BHP Group While the decline was 2.4%, glencoreThe company, which was set to merge with Rio Tinto before the partnership was scrapped earlier this month, also stalled, falling 1.7%. Fresnillo 1.2% retreat; anglo american It was down 0.6%.
The FTSE Industrial Metals and Mining Index was last down 1.2%.
In terms of corporate profits, airbus, nestle and renault Among the names to report their results later this week are:
In Asia, Japan Nikkei Shimbun The country’s economic growth rate rose by 0.2% in the December quarter, at an annual rate of 0.2%, below expectations of 1.6%. Trading was thin elsewhere in the region as markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Meanwhile, US stock markets will be closed on Monday for President’s Day.
