stocks, news, data and earnings

Stocks opened higher on Monday, with investor appetite for risk assets growing following a cooling of trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 975 points, or 2.3%. The Nasdaq Composite popped 3.7%, while the S&P 500 added 2.7%.

— Brian Evans

The Stoxx Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology index had dropped 2.75% by 1:54 p.m. in London, making it one of the worst-performing sectors in Europe on Monday.

The moves came in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump announcing he would sign an executive order on Monday morning to immediately slash prescription drug prices in America.

“Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%. They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

European pharma stocks fell with giants Novo Nordisk down 3%, GSK down 1.9%, AstraZeneca down 3.8% and Roche down 3.6%.

Novo’s stock also edged lower after a trial found that Eli Lilly‘s Mounjaro was a more effective weight loss drug than Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster treatment Wegovy. The results of the trial, which were funded by Eli Lilly, were presented at a conference in Malaga, Spain, the BBC reported on Monday.

— Chloe Taylor

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said he expects to continue talks with China in the near-term to iron out a more concrete trade agreement.

“I would imagine in the next few weeks we will be meeting again to get rolling on a more fulsome agreement,” Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday.

— Brian Evans

The CEO of UniCredit told CNBC on Monday that the bank was still weighing its options regarding takeover bids for fellow Italian lender Banco BPM and Germany’s Commerzbank, but would not be swayed by expectations.

“We have a base case, standalone base case, that I think is unbeatable in the next three years from a distribution standpoint and from an EPS growth standpoint. So we’re not going to affect that negatively for anything, and much less on M&A pushed by the pressure that always builds up when you get [to] this point,” Andrea Orcel told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition.”

“At this point, I think we are in control. On BPM we are reviewing the situation, post the value-destructive deal on Anima and the demands of the golden power, and we haven’t made up our mind yet,” he said.

UniCredit first made an all-share takeover offer for Banco BPM last November, a move formally rejected by its smaller rival last month. Orcel has previously said the deal could be withdrawn if BPM shareholders agreed to pay a higher price in their own takeover bid for fund manager Anima, action they approved in February. UniCredit has also criticized the prescriptions placed on the deal by Italian authorities.

Discussing UniCredit’s concurrent takeover interest in Commerzbank, Orcel told CNBC: “We’re exactly where we thought we would be.”

“We’ve always kept Commerzbank informed from the beginning… We asked for all the authorization. We almost got them all, and we said that at that point we would pause and with patience, wait to engage with a new government and with Commerzbank in a constructive discussion.”

“If a deal is possible, we will pursue, if it’s not possible, we will reassess where we are.”

— Jenni Reid

Shares of UniCredit were up 3.5% at 10:00 a.m. in London, trading at their highest level since May 2011 after the Italian lender posted higher-than-expected first quarter net profit.

JPMorgan analysts led by Delphine Lee highlighted the bank’s stronger revenues, particularly in fees and trading, and said they expected low single-digit earnings per share (EPS) consensus upgrades as a result.

AP Moller Maersk shares shot up 13% on Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods.

The share price of the shipping giant had declined by about 4.6% this year, ahead of the news that suggested a major thawing of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Other stocks in the Stoxx Europe 600 rising more than 5% include Danish electronics manufacturer GN Store Nord, footwear maker Puma, building materials firm Arkema and mining giant Glencore.

— Ganesh Rao

The U.S. and China on Monday agreed to suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods in a move that shows a major thawing of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The trade agreement means that “reciprocal” tariffs between both countries will be cut from 125% to 10%. The U.S.’ 20% duties on Chinese imports relating to fentanyl will remain in place, meaning total tariffs on China stand at 30%.

“We had very productive talks and I believe that the venue, here in Lake Geneva, added great equanimity to what was a very positive process,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a news conference.

Read more here.

— Sam Meredith

UniCredit beat profit expectations in the first quarter of 2025, marking the 12th consecutive time the bank has topped estimates.

The Italian lender reported net profit of 2.77 billion euros ($3.11 billion), against the median analyst forecast of 2.34 billion euros, according to LSEG data.

The bank also raised its full-year net profit guidance to 9.3 billion euros, which could take its return on tangible equity to more than 17%. UniCredit had previously expected net profit and RoTE to be “broadly in line” with the previous financial year.

— Ganesh Rao

Bitcoin slid on Monday, but continued to hold steady above the $100,000 threshold.

The cryptocurrency was down 0.42% to $103,859.94 as of 11.39 a.m. Singapore time.

The latest move is a reversal from its fast gains in the last week, which pushed investors to forecast that it will soon hit its  which happened at the end of January.

Spot gold plunged Monday as investors cheered early signs of progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China.

As at 9.20 a.m. Singapore time, the bullion was trading 1.85% lower at $3,262.29 per ounce.

The latest moves in the precious metal — which is a traditional hedge against political and financial instability — is a reversal from the 2.6% gain it notched the week before as investors sought refuge in it.

— Amala Balakrishner

European markets are expected to start the new trading week on a positive note.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 35 points higher at 8,586, Germany’s DAX up 192 points at 23,688, France’s CAC 70 points higher at 7,785 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 366 points higher at 39,139, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Unicredit on Monday.

— Holly Ellyatt