Europe Asia News

Analysts say the UK’s FTSE, Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB are set to open slightly higher on Monday. Trading volumes could also be lower this week, with the Christmas holiday continuing and regional markets closed on Thursday for New Year’s.

After U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that progress had been made in talks to end the war but that “one or two very thorny issues” remained, the chances of a Ukraine peace deal being reached by year-end appear to be fading.

Trump had seemed to be targeting a peace agreement before Christmas, but major gaps have emerged between Ukraine and Russia over the territorial concessions demanded by Russia and the security guarantees sought by Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s talks in Florida, Zelensky said they had agreed on “about 90%” of a 20-point peace plan and that leaders were fully aligned on Ukraine’s security guarantees. Trump was slightly less optimistic, saying the agreement was “about 95%” complete.

No major earnings or data releases are expected in Europe today. In premarket trading, Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 futures rose 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. There are no major European earnings or data releases scheduled for Monday.