European stocks have opened the new week on a subdued note, with investors wary Monday of elevated geopolitical pressures ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting and a deluge of important corporate earnings.
At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany gained 0.1% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.2%, while the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.1%.
Subscribe to InvestingPro for detailed stock market analysis Raised stress between U.S. and Canada Worries surrounding U.S.President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance on Greenland, and the potential for a trade war between the European Union and the U.S., may have dissipated, but geopolitical tensions remain heightened.
Trump warned over the weekend that he would impose a 100% tariff on Canada if Ottawa signed a trade deal with China.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney answered by stating that his country has no intention of pursuing a free trade agreement with China, but the exchange illustrated the simmering tensions between the two neighboring countries.
German Ifo overshadowed by Fed meeting The main economic release in Europe Monday is the German Ifo business climate index, which is expected to show an improvement in corporate confidence in the eurozone’s largest economy.
Most attention, however, will be on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, set to conclude on Wednesday.
Investors mostly expect the central bank to hold interest rates steady after three consecutive cuts, and will be closely analysing the Fed’s statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks for clues on the future path of interest rates.
Ryanair expects strong profit growth In the European corporate sector, Ryanair (IR:RYA), Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, said its full-year after-tax profit was likely to be around one-third higher than last year, with average fares expected to show stronger growth than the 7% annual growth it forecast in November.
However, its third-quarter profit was sharply lower than a year earlier, dragged down by an €85 million charge related to a fine imposed by Italy’s competition authority.
Elsewhere, digital advertising and marketing services company S4 Capital (LON:SFOR) said Monday that its 2025 full-year trading results have exceeded revised guidance issued in November as well as current market expectations.
A lot of attention will be on Wall Street this week, with more than 90 S&P 500 companies set to post quarterly reports, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
So far, the earnings season has been strong, with 76% of the companies that have reported beating expectations, according to data from FactSet.
Crude consolidate after strong gains Oil prices slipped slightly lower Monday, consolidating after recent gains on renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran as well as wintery conditions in large parts of the U.S..
Brent futures slipped 0.2% to $64.92 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.2% to $60.93 a barrel.
Both benchmarks notched weekly gains of 2.7% last week, closing on Friday at their highest points since January 14.
