12th May 2025 11:52
(Alliance News) - European stocks remained in the green at midday on Monday, on investor optimism following the suspension in US-China tariffs and easing of trade tensions between the two countries.
The FTSE 100 index was up 31.73 points, 0.4%, at 8,586.53. The FTSE 250 was up 299.38 points, 1.1%, at 20,733.75, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.35 points, 0.2%, at 728.26.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 856.37, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.8% at 18,080.49, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 15,589.86.
The US and China announced Monday an agreement to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, de-escalating a trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
Following a weekend of trade talks in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters the sides had agreed to temporarily roll back "reciprocal tariffs" by 115 percentage points for a 90 day period.
The US rate was down to 30% and Chinese duties cut to 10%.
The head of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, praised the talks on Sunday as a "significant step forward" that "bode well for the future".
"Amid current global tensions, this progress is important not only for the US and China but also for the rest of the world, including the most vulnerable economies," she added.
Quilter analyst Lindsay James commented: "Markets have widely welcomed this news, with US equity futures gaining ground whilst Chinese markets extended their rally. The dollar looks set to have a strong day, whilst gold, having gained around 40% in the past year, is on the retreat as the demand for safe havens is likely to be more muted.
"This news is good given where we were, but there is still a lingering question over whether sustained progress is likely. We have seen tariffs suspended only to be reintroduced after subsequent negotiations weren't seen to be progressing adequately, and early trade deals have been announced with fanfare only to be later ripped up. Furthermore, with this deal in place for just 90 days, lack of any concrete progress will likely just ramp up market tensions once again."
Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 2.1%, the S&P 500 index 2.8% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite up 3.8%.
Brent oil was quoted up at USD65.69 a barrel at midday in London on Monday from USD63.66 late Friday. Gold was quoted lower at USD3,214.02 an ounce against USD3,342.57.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris edged up 1.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt improved 1.0%.
The UK on Monday hosted European ministers for "critical" talks on "repelling Russian aggression", after Ukraine's allies demanded that Moscow accept a ceasefire.
Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU joined 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 Washington.
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.
The pound was quoted down at USD1.3172 at midday on Monday in London, compared to USD1.3299 at the equities close on Friday. The euro also stood lower, at USD1.1094 against USD1.1263.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY148.34 compared to JPY145.18.
Glencore was up 6.1% around midday, on the back of Cobalt Holdings announcing its intention to start trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in June.
Cobalt has agreed a six-year supply contract with Glencore for the supply of cobalt worth up to USD1 billion, as well as a further supply contract to acquire up to 1,500 tonnes of cobalt from Anchorage in 2031.
Cobalt has made an initial USD200 million purchase of cobalt from Glencore at a discount to Monday's spot price.
Cobalt Holdings Chief Executive Officer Jake Greenberg said: "Our strategy is simple: to provide equity investors with direct, pure-play exposure to the price of cobalt through a low-risk, low-cost business model that sees us buying physical cobalt and holding it for the long-term...We anticipate that supply and demand will come back into balance over the coming years and will create the necessary conditions to incentivise investment in new mines and refining capacity in the West, all of which are essential to deliver the energy transition."
Diversified Energy rose 6.0%.
The Birmingham, Alabama-based gas and oil production company said total revenue in the first quarter that ended March 31 rose 79% to USD346.9 million from USD193.6 million the previous year.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 35% to USD138.2 million from USD102.1 million, while the adjusted Ebitda margin was unchanged at 47%. Diversified Energy also declared a dividend of 29 US cents per share for the quarter, unchanged on-year.
Looking ahead, the company reiterated its full-year guidance, which incorporates a nine-month contribution from assets gained through its acquisition of Maverick Natural Resources in March. The outlook included USD825 to USD875 million in adjusted Ebitda.
At the other end, Mycelx Technologies sank 13%.
The clean water and air technology firm said its pretax loss narrowed to USD2.6 million in 2024 from USD3.3 million in 2023, despite revenue falling 55% to USD4.9 million from USD10.9 million.
This was largely driven by a one-off USD1.9 million gain on sale of property and equipment in 2024, as well as selling, general and administrative expenses reducing by 18% to USD5.5 million from USD6.7 million. Cost of goods for the year was down 49% to USD3.6 million from USD7.0 million.
"Today, Mycelx stands at an important inflection point in its journey - poised to deliver growth in its core markets, profitability, and delivering the future of clean water globally. Given our continued innovation, refinement, and global deployment of our proprietary technologies, we are now seeing the commercial momentum that has been built from years of foundational work," said Chief Executive Officer Connie Mixon.
Still to come on Monday's economic calendar, the US monthly budget statement at 1900 BST.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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