European Markets Advanced as U.S. and China Announce to Halt Sky-High Tariffs for Now

Bridgette Randall
12 May, 2025
London

European markets advanced in Monday's trading, and the U.S. and China announced progress on trade talks. 

The U.S. and China agreed to de-escalate trade tensions and announced a pause on tariffs. 

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced a pause on sky-high tariffs for 90 days and lowered tariffs to 30% from the proposed 145% rate. 

China agreed to lower its tariffs to 10% from 125% for the next three months. 

The talks in Geneva followed weeks of tensions and global financial market chaos after the U.S. slapped unilateral country-specific tariffs on all imports, with the heaviest burden on shipments arriving from China. 

The two sides issued positive comments after two days of talks ending on late Sunday, but it is not clear what the U.S. and China have agreed upon. 

The U.S. and China "have taken important steps to resolve important differences through equal dialogue and consultation," the state news agency Xinhua reported. 

Negotiators in Geneva said that the two sides will release a joint statement on early Monday, New York time, and the statement is likely to focus on the trade negotiation framework and set an outline of discussion topics. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 1.3% to 23,805.34, the CAC-40 index edged higher 1.1% to 7,828.35, and the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.7% to 8,612.45.

The yield on 10-year German bonds inched higher to 2.63%, French bonds increased to 3.31%, the UK gilts moved up to 4.64%, and Italian bonds edged higher to 3.65%.

The euro decreased to $1.11; the British pound was lower at $1.32; and the U.S. dollar was higher and traded at 83.98 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $1.65 to $65.56 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas was higher by €0.01 to €34.61 per MWh.

 

Europe Movers

Salzgitter AG declined 4.9% to €20.82, and the German steel manufacturing company reported net income swung to a loss in the first quarter. 

Technip Energies NV soared 3% to €31.98, and the French engineering company for the energy and chemical company announced a stock repurchase program. 

UniCredit SpA advanced 3.6% to €55.68 after the Italian bank reported better-than-expected earnings. 

Revenue increased 2.8% to €6.5 billion from €6.3 billion, net profit edged up 8.3% to €2.8 billion from €2.6 billion, and earnings per share climbed 18.2% to €1.79 from €1.52 a year ago.

Net interest income was down 4.8% to €3.5 billion from the previous quarter, a resilient performance given the fewer calendar days and lower average Euribor in the quarter.

“Trading income stood at €641 million in the quarter, up over 100% versus the prior quarter and up 19.9% versus the prior year,” the company said in a release to investors.