European Shares Likely To Open On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks look set to open on a firm note Monday despite fresh tariff announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump announced new 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, raising fears of a brewing global trade war and its potential impact on the global economy.

As China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods take effect later in the day, Trump also stated that he would announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday that mirror the tariffs those countries charge on American exports.

Asian markets traded mixed, with mining stocks suffering losses in Australia, South Korea and Japan while tech stocks surged in China and Hog Kong, fueled by optimism surrounding DeepSeek's rapid ascent.

Inflation data from China painted a mixed picture, with consumer inflation accelerating to its fastest in five months in January while producer price deflation persisted.

The dollar surged ahead of the release of U.S. consumer and producer price inflation figures along with congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due this week.

The release of Eurozone Sentix investor confidence for February and a speech from ECB President Christine Lagarde will be in the spotlight later in the day.

Gold edged higher to a record high amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Oil ticked higher after a string of weekly declines as the U.S. government imposed new sanctions on Iran's crude exports.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday amid fresh tariff and inflation jitters.

Meanwhile, the latest jobs report painted a mixed picture, with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4 percent while fewer jobs than expected were added in January.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 143,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than the revised 307,000 in December and missing forecast of 169,000.

A gauge of U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in February, but one-year inflation expectations moved up to 4.3 percent from 3.3 percent -- the highest reading since 2023.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.4 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both lost around 1 percent.

European stocks closed lower on Friday as investors reacted to a flurry of earnings reports, U.S. jobs data and the U.S.-China trade spat.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 0.4 percent. The German DAX shed half a percent, France's CAC 40 gave up 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE eased 0.3 percent.