European Markets Climb Amid Trade and Earnings Anticipation

European equities experienced a slight increase on Monday, building on two weeks of gains. Investors are closely monitoring potential tariff developments alongside a busy week filled with earnings reports and key economic data releases.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index showed a rise of 0.5% as of 0709 GMT, with other regional indices also showing positive movement.

Market confidence was bolstered by emerging indications of de-escalating trade tensions between the United States and China during the previous week.

However, inconsistent statements regarding progress in trade negotiations from the world’s leading economies continue to make investors cautious.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that he had not engaged in discussions about tariffs with Chinese officials and was unsure whether President Donald Trump had spoken with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

China has consistently refuted President Trump’s assertions regarding ongoing tariff-related negotiations.

Despite these uncertainties, there are some positive signals. China announced on Friday that it would exempt certain U.S. goods from its 125% tariffs. This action indicates Beijing’s increasing concerns about the impact of the trade conflict.

Shares of Deliveroo saw a surge of 16.3% after the British meal delivery firm disclosed it had received a takeover proposal from DoorDash on April 5.

Airbus shares also increased by 1.6% following the finalization of an agreement to acquire selected assets from Spirit AeroSystems, according to statements from both companies. In other corporate news, Italian bank Mediobanca announced a 6.3 billion-euro ($7.15 billion) bid for the private bank Banca Generali.