European stocks inch up.
European shares edged higher on Monday as investors weighed signals from U.S.-Iran peace talks against political uncertainty in Britain following reports that Prime Minister Keir Starmer could resign.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index opened 0.1% higher while Germany’s DAX was largely unchanged. France’s CAC 40 was up 0.1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB edged 0.1% lower.
In London, the FTSE 100 held steady as markets awaited an official statement from Downing Street. The muted trading followed media reports that Starmer was poised to step down after a parliamentary election victory by his internal rival, Andy Burnham.
Investors also have their focus to the European Central Bank. Speeches scheduled later in the day by President Christine Lagarde and Chief Economist Philip Lane are expected to offer a crucial pulse check on the bank’s monetary trajectory.
Traders are eager to see how policymakers intend to balance lingering inflationary pressures following a recent war-induced rate hike, especially now that hostilities in the Middle East have shown signs of easing.
Gold rebounds as US-Iran talks progress.
Gold prices climbed on Monday as investors monitored developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations in Switzerland and assessed the outlook for U.S. monetary policy following the Federal Reserve’s hawkish signals last week.
Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,205.05 an ounce by 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT), while U.S. Gold Futures climbed 1.2% to $4,223.42.
Bullion has slipped 1.4% last week, and is coming off three straight sessions of losses.The meeting, which was the first under new Chair Kevin Warsh, showed at least nine policymakers now anticipate an interest rate hike by the end of 2026.
The precious metal found support as Iranian officials reported progress in talks with the United States, helping ease fears of a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies and weighing on crude oil prices.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Aragchi said “major progress” had been made during the quadrilateral talks in Switzerland, while mediators from Qatar and Pakistan said negotiators had agreed on a roadmap toward a broader agreement.
Bitcoin stalls at $64k.
Bitcoin stalled on Monday, cutting short a brief weekend recovery as traders parsed mixed signals on U.S.-Iran peace talks.
Continued capital outflows from cryptocurrency markets also kept broader prices under pressure, as risk-on investors pivoted more towards high-flying artificial intelligence stocks.
Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $64,045.6 by 02:41 ET (06:41 GMT). The world’s largest crypto had come close to $65,000 over the weekend, but had run out of steam by Monday.
Iran flags some progress in US talks while Trump threatens more strikes
Iranian officials on Monday flagged some progress in quadrilateral talks with the U.S. held in Switzerland over the weekend.
Qatar and Pakistan, who are mediating the talks, struck an optimistic tone on the dialogue, and said the U.S. and Iran had committed to holding technical discussions on their 14-point framework deal this week.
But the positive comments were preceded by threats from U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington will resume its attacks on Iran if it does not rein in Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Continued hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon were a key point of contention in ongoing peace discussions. Tehran has repeatedly demanded that Lebanon and Hezbollah be included in any peace deal, and had even closed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend in response to recent hostilities by Israel.
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