EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: Cautious optimism in the aftermath of Trump/Zelensky/EU talks

STOXX 600: +0.3%

• European bourses are modestly firmer across the board and have traded sideways throughout the morning.
• The cautious optimism seems to come in the aftermath of the US President Trump/Ukrainian President Zelensky/EU Leaders meeting. On that, Trump described it as a very good meeting, while he also called Russian President Putin to begin arrangements for a Putin-Zelensky meeting, which would be followed by a trilateral meeting with Trump. Reportedly, security agreements were discussed; on territorial developments, Zelensky suggested it would be a discussion between Ukraine and Russia.
• In summary, the surrounding commentary from the involved parties has been fairly optimistic; though the lack of significant progress has kept traders cautious.

Sectors: Positive

• European sectors hold a positive bias, but the breadth of the market is fairly narrow.
• Consumer Products takes the top spot, joined closely by Basic Resources and Retail; nothing really company-specific is driving the upside in these sectors, but largely benefiting from the slightly positive risk tone.
• Energy is found right at the foot of the pile, primarily due to the losses seen in the underlying crude complex – with oil prices hit in the aftermath of the latest US/Ukraine/European Leaders peace talks.

Others:

• ASML (ASML NA) +0.8%; US stake in Intel; NVIDIA is reportedly working on a new China model, according to Reuters sources.
• IWG (IWG LN) -12.0%; Earnings (pretax profit slipped; weak guidance).
• Vinci (DG FP) +0.4%; Co. won a design and build contract in Australia, valued at about EUR 450mln.

US Equity Futures: ES -0.1%, NQ -0.1%, RTY -0.2%

• Futures are modestly lower across the board, with sentiment a little downbeat in comparison to the upside seen across Europe.
• In terms of key stories; NVIDIA (NVDA) is reportedly working on a new AI chip for China which outperforms the H20, via Reuters citing sources. Elsewhere, it was reported that NVIDIA would need to increase H20 prices by 18% in response to the US Government's profit-sharing policy.
• Docket ahead is fairly light aside from the US Building Permits, Housing Starts and then an update to the Atlanta Fed GDPNow.