European stocks steadied Monday, mostly retaining the positive tone seen at the start of the week as investors digested easing global tensions and a plethora of quarterly corporate earnings.
At 03:10 ET (07:10 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.1%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.3%.
Easing China-U.S. tensions Global sentiment has been boosted of late by optimism that tensions between the U.S. and China will ease.
This has been helped by Monday’s comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that indicated that he expects to reach a fair trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting between the two on the sidelines of an economic conference in South Korea next week.
Trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have weighed on global confidence, with disputes over tariffs, technology and market access remaining largely unresolved.
Takaichi to become Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, is set to be sworn in as Japan’s 104th prime minister, and its first female premier, later in the session.
Takaichi will succeed Shigeru Ishiba, who had abruptly resigned in September after the LDP suffered crushing electoral losses. She is widely regarded as a fiscal dove, and is expected to dole out more government spending on infrastructure, industrialization, and defence.
Quarterly earnings season continues
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Back in Europe, the economic calendar is largely empty, allowing investors to concentrate on the quarterly earnings season.
Assa Abloy (ST:ASSAb), the world’s largest lockmaker, reported a slightly bigger third-quarter operating profit than expected, even as the residential market in North America remained sluggish.
Husqvarna (ST:HUSQa), a Swedish manufacturer of outdoor power products, reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter results as uneven demand and soft North American sales weighed.
Unilever (LON:ULVR) said it will adjust the timeline for the planned demerger of The Magnum Ice Cream Company due to the U.S. federal government shutdown, with further updates on the revised schedule to be provided as soon as possible.
L’Oreal (EPA:OREP) is due to release its latest earnings later in the session, and the French luxury house’s results will be studied carefully the day after announcing the purchase of Kering ’s (EPA:PRTP) beauty division for €4 billion.
There are also some important U.S. companies due to report Tuesday, with numbers from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) standing out.
Crude slips further Oil prices slipped lower Tuesday, remaining close to five-month lows as concerns over a looming supply glut and weakening demand sapped confidence.
Brent futures dropped 0.5% to $60.72 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.5% to $56.73 a barrel.
Prices declined to their lowest since early May in Monday’s session on the concerns the U.S.-China trade dispute will hit economic growth as well the International Energy Agency’s outlook for a growing supply glut in 2026.
