European shares were flat on Monday as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings while awaiting a potential trade deal between the United States and the European Union. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.03% at 547.15 points, as of 0831 GMT. Get a look at the day ahead in European and global markets with the Morning Bid Europe newsletter. Sign up here. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident that Washington can secure a trade deal with the EU, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Investors awaited clarity on U.S.-EU trade talks, as the bloc readied retaliatory measures if negotiations with Washington failed. "On the one hand, it's this complete uncertainty when it comes to the tariffs," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, adding that on the other side he remains hopeful the EU and U.S. will reach a better deal, and that the impact on corporate earnings will not be as severe as initially feared. European basic resources (.SXPP), opens new tab gained 3.3%, the most among sectors, while travel and leisure rose 1.7%. Banks (.SX7P), opens new tab slipped 0.7%. Ryanair (RYA.I), opens new tab was one of the biggest percentage gainers in the STOXX 600, after Europe's largest low-cost carrier reported that its quarterly profit more than doubled. Its shares surged 6.2%, boosting other airline stocks. Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Report This Ad Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens new tab rose 1.3% and EasyJet (EZJ.L), opens new tab gained 1.1%. Miners Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab, Anglo American (AAL.L), opens new tab and Antofagasta (ANTO.L), opens new tab rose between 3.3% and 4%, tracking stronger metals prices. Boliden (BOL.ST), opens new tab rose 5.9% after Berenberg upgraded the Swedish miner to "buy" from "hold". Belimo (BEAN.S), opens new tab advanced 5.5% after the Swiss heating and ventilation solution maker posted better-than-expected half-year profitability. Conversely, Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab fell 1.2% after the automaker said it expects a net loss of 2.3 billion euros ($2.68 billion) for the first half of 2025. Swedish defence material maker Saab (SAABb.ST), opens new tab fell 7.4% after rising 16.4% in the previous session. On Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Stocks finished flat to lower Friday with the Dow dropping about a third of 1% and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ ending near breakeven.
Meanwhile, a European Central Bank survey showed on Monday that the Euro zone firms remain optimistic about their growth prospects but are also experiencing pressure on their profits, in part due to trade tensions. Investors will also take cues from the ECB's meet later this week, at which it is expected to keep rates steady at 2.0% following a series of cuts. Focus will also be on big tech company results this week, including Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab.
