The major European stock markets opened today with relatively stable and mixed trading, mirroring Friday’s close, in a crucial week for countries aiming to finalize several trade agreements with the United States.
As of 08:40 in Lisbon, the Frankfurt stock exchange registered the highest increase with a gain of 0.35%, followed by Paris with a slight rise of 0.04%.
In contrast, London slipped 0.24%, Madrid fell 0.04%, and Milan decreased 0.02%.
The Euro Stoxx 50, an index listing Europe’s largest capitalization companies, rose by 0.13%.
The United States has begun sending notifications to countries without finalized trade agreements, indicating tariffs that will be applied from August 1.
This follows months of pressure and adjustments that resulted in agreements with the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and China.
Meanwhile, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and India are working to accelerate their negotiations.
On Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the letters sent by the U.S. government give countries until August 1 to conclude their respective trade agreements. Failing this, the tariffs announced on April 2 will be enacted from the same date.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday of a potential additional 10% tariff on countries aligning with the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates), whose leaders are meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Specifically, the BRICS group, led by China and Russia, is conducting its second day of the summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with other forum partners amidst a turbulent international scenario marked by the escalation of the Middle East conflict, U.S. government tariffs, and the crisis of multilateralism.
Today’s agenda includes the publication of the Sentix investor confidence survey for the eurozone in July, as well as May’s monthly retail sales and Germany’s monthly industrial production index.
In Asia, the Nikkei index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down 0.56%, while the Shanghai Composite index rose by 0.02%, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange lost 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong, moments from closing, fell by 0.41%.
Wall Street resumes trading today after having been closed on Friday for Independence Day, and after a half-session on Thursday with gains of around 1% across all three indices.
Currently, futures point to declines of 0.55% for Nasdaq, 0.51% for the S&P 500, and 0.34% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
In commodities, both gold and oil are down, with prices falling 0.84% to $3,318 per ounce and 0.25% to $68.13 per barrel of Brent crude, the European benchmark.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark, also dropped 0.17% to $66.39 before the official market opening.
