Stocks in Europe were higher on Monday morning as talks between the US and China proved fertile, as the nations agreed a 90-day tariff pause, while London hosts European ministers for talks on Russia.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 30.02 points, 0.3%, at 8,584.82. The FTSE 250 was up 267.51 points, 1.3%, at 20,771.88, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.82 points, 0.4%, at 729.73.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 859.08, the Cboe UK 250 was up 1.1% at 18,128.08, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 15,538.38.
The US and China have agreed to drastically reduce their tit-for-tat tariffs for a 90-day period, they said in a joint statement after two days to trade talks in Geneva.
‘We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause,’ US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after the sides issued the statement, adding that ‘both side will move their tariffs down’ 115 percentage points.
In response, Brent oil was quoted higher at $65.54 a barrel early in London on Monday from $63.66 late Friday.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mostly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 0.1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite marginally up.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was 0.4% higher. In China, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong improved 3.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed marginally higher.
The UK will on Monday host European ministers for ‘critical’ talks on ‘repelling Russian aggression’, two days after Ukraine’s allies demanded that Moscow accept a ceasefire.
Representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU will join Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London for a meeting of the so-called ‘Weimar+’ group. The coalition was set up in February in response to shifting US policy towards the war between Ukraine and Russia, and European security in general under President Donald Trump.
The meeting follows Saturday’s visit by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the UK to Kyiv, where they called for Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to allow for peace talks a proposal they said was backed by the US.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, but did not respond to the European call for a 30-day ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be prepared to meet Putin in Turkey, but did not say whether he would still attend if Russia refused the European proposal.
China called on Monday for a ‘binding peace agreement’ to end the war in Ukraine.
‘We support all efforts conducive to peace and hope that the relevant parties will continue to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation,’ Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a briefing, calling for a ‘binding peace agreement that is acceptable to all parties’.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was 1.0% higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.7%.
Anglo American was one of the FTSE 100’s top winners on Monday morning, up 6.8%.
The London-based miner named Tom McCulley as its new technical director, with immediate effect following former Technical & Operations Director Matt Daley’s decision to take up an external senior executive role after eight years at the company.
Daley will work with McCulley over the coming months prior to his departure later in 2025, to ensure a smooth transition. McCulley will retain his responsibility for Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business, and will continue as a member of the firm’s executive leadership team.
At the other end of the index, AstraZeneca opened down 4.7%.
The pharmaceuticals firm said it has received approval in the UK for Trixeo Aerosphere as a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults, with a next-generation propellant with near-zero global warming potential.
The UK Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approval was based on results from the next-generation propellant clinical development programme, which demonstrated bioequivalence between Trixeo with the next-generation propellant, and with the current propellant.
‘The UK approval of Trixeo Aerosphere with the near-zero global warming potential propellant marks a world ’first’ and an important step in improving the environmental impact of our portfolio of inhaled respiratory medicines to support the NHS in achieving its net zero carbon goals. Trixeo with our next-generation propellant allows us to address the needs of both patients and the planet,’ said AstraZeneca President Tom Keith-Roach.
Venture Life Group rose 20%.
The developer and manufacturer for the self-care market agreed the sale of Biokosmes and its contract development and manufacturing business Venture Life Manufacturing, as well as some non-core products, for a total of €62.0 million.
This was part of the firm’s effort to streamline its operations and shift away from capital intensive manufacturing operations. It will now direct increased cash flow into the commercialisation, growth and development of its higher margin core brands, such as Balance Activ, Health & Her/Him, and Lift.
Venture Life expects to post a one-off profit of around £24.1 million from the disposals in its financial 2025 results.
The pound was quoted down at $1.3191 early on Monday in London, compared to $1.3299 at the equities close on Friday. The euro also stood lower, at $1.1124, against $1.1263.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥147.65 compared to JP¥145.18.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ambassador in Washington has said he is ‘looking forward’ to negotiating with the US to ‘bring down further tariffs’.
Peter Mandelson told the BBC that Thursday’s deal between the UK and US represents a ‘platform for going further and opening up more trade opportunities’, as the prime minister declined to rule out the possibility of changes to taxes on technology companies in a future trade deal.
Meanwhile, the number of UK employers expecting to increase staff numbers in the next three months has fallen to a record low outside of the pandemic, new research suggests.
A survey of 2,000 businesses found issues such as rising employment costs and growing global uncertainties. The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development said the rate of employers expecting to increase headcount has fallen sharply among large private sector employers, and in retail in particular.
One in four employers plan to make redundancies in the next three months, said the report.
Gold was quoted lower at $3,229.94 an ounce against $3,342.57.
Still to come on Monday’s economic calendar, comments from Bank of England representatives, including Deputy Governor Clare Lombardelli, and the US monthly budget statement.
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