This report is from today’s TNC’s Daily Open, our international markets update. TNC Daily Open keeps investors informed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are.
Europe was rushing to establish a position in this new global order. At the same time, the United States took a sabbatical (from radical changes in government policy and its bureaucracy) across the Atlantic.
After being excluded from U.S.-led negotiations between Washington and Moscow on the almost three-year Russia-Ukraine war, European leaders hurried to Paris on Monday to discuss plans for peace in Ukraine. The meetings are scheduled to start on Tuesday.
The European leaders’ meeting occurred just one day after the Munich Security Conference ended on February 14–16.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Europe must do more if it is to be taken seriously by the United Nations. At the same time, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen encouraged member nations to increase defense spending during the defense conference.
However, investors certainly understood the message regarding increased defense spending. Despite growing worries that the continent would not be included in the highest-level negotiations, shares in European defense companies surged Monday, sending Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index to yet another all-time high.
What To Note Today
Europe’s Emergency Meeting
After it seemed that Europe might be excluded from the negotiating table in the U.S.-led Russia-Ukraine peace talks, French President Emmanuel Macron hurriedly called an emergency gathering of European leaders in Paris on Monday. This week, Washington and Moscow will meet in Saudi Arabia. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on Monday that his country will not participate. Ukraine was completely unaware of it.
European Defence Stocks Skyrocket
Shares of European defense businesses, including Saab and Renk Group, surged on Monday as the Stoxx Europe Aerospace & Defence index reached a record high. At the Munich Security Conference, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen energized them by announcing that member states could raise their defense and security expenditures without violating the bloc’s budget deficit spending guidelines.
Rate Cuts By Australia’s Central Bank
For President’s Day, U.S. markets were closed on Monday. The majority of Asia-Pacific markets increased on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan increased by about 0.4%. Following reports that a potential merger with Honda Motors may resume, shares of Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors rose. However, despite the Reserve Bank of Australia reducing its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.1%—its first decrease in more than four years—Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.66% lower.
Terms Associated With Trump In Earnings Calls
Concerns about the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies on diversity, immigration, and foreign commerce are becoming more prevalent among American businesses. According to TNC research, S&P 500-listed businesses’ earnings calls increasingly use terms associated with such concerns. Here are some responses from businesses to questions about Trump-related terms like “tariff,” “DOGE,” and “Gulf of America.”
More Defence Stocks to Watch
Following Trump’s push, the European Union seemed more willing to boost defense expenditures at last weekend’s Munich Security Conference. Citi says these businesses expect to gain from the EU’s increased military spending and the defense equities that surged on Monday.
Bottom Line
According to industry data, 2024 was a good year for aeolian energy in Germany, with increased permit awards for onshore wind turbines. However, the sector is now unclear due to the forthcoming election on February 23.
In an interview with public broadcaster ZDF late last year, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, expressed his hope that “ugly” wind turbines will eventually be taken down “because they do not fit into the landscape.” Alice Weidel, the far-right candidate for chancellor of Alternative fuer Deutschland, has allegedly called wind turbines “windmills of shame” and threatened to demolish them all.
