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.