By Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) -European shares were subdued on Monday, after rounding off the previous week with gains, as markets were cautious ahead of another round of Sino-U.S. trade talks later in the day.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was firm at 553.21 points at 0746 GMT, after four consecutive sessions of gains.
Trading was thin as several markets including ones in Switzerland, Denmark and Norway were closed due to Whit Monday holiday.
Top officials from the U.S. and China are scheduled to meet in London for talks that investors hope will indicate some progress in de-escalating trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
The talks follow a phone call between the presidents of the two countries last week, in which they agreed to hold more talks, amid a global trade war that has escalated from tit-for-tat tariffs to export controls.
“The Xi Jinping administration has shown determination not to back down to Trump’s tariff intimidation because it has already forged deeper relationships elsewhere and it’s also got tools like the curb on rare earth minerals,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“There is still hope that they will come to some kind of deal, but it is not going to be easy.”
China said on Friday that it is willing to accelerate the examination and approval of rare earth exports to European Union firms.
Automakers, who are among the industries with the most exposure to rare earth minerals curbs, were mixed in early trading.
The benchmark European stock index rounded off the previous week with gains on hopes of a thaw in trade tensions and after a stronger-than-expected jobs report in the U.S. allayed concerns over the labour market.
This week, an inflation reading in the U.S. will be watched to see if any impact from President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policy has started to seep in the economy.
A slew of regional data, including UK unemployment and GDP, will also be watched.
Among individual stocks, London’s Alphawave jumped over 23% after U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm agreed to acquire the semiconductor company for about $2.4 billion.
Revolution Beauty gained 10.8% as billionaire Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, among several, was conducting due diligence for a potential takeover of the cosmetics company.
WPP slipped 1.9%. The ad group said its chief executive officer Mark Read will retire by the end of 2025 after seven years in the role.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Tasim Zahid)
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