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Investing.com - European stocks traded in a mixed manner Monday as investors awaited U.S. President Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline for trade agreements with a great deal of uncertainty.
At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany gained 0.3%, the CAC 40 in France climbed 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.1%.
Trade deals deadline draws nearer
With just a couple of days to go until the U.S. president‘s deadline, global investors are on edge to see if the United States forges any agreements with trading partners as they seek to avoid higher levies.
Trump paused many of the harshest U.S. tariffs for 90 days after his April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement roiled global markets in order to provide time for countries to negotiate trade deals.
Trump said on Sunday his administration was close to finalising deals with several trade partners and will send letters notifying others by July 9 of higher rates that will kick in from August 1.
However, it remains unclear just how high Trump’s tariffs will be. The president had in April unveiled tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on major economies, but he has since added to the confusion by mentioning that some tariffs could reach 60% or 70%.
He also threatened an extra 10% tariff on countries aligning themselves with the "anti-American policies" of the BRICS, a group the U.S. itself is in tariff talks with.
German industrial production rose in May
German industrial production rose more than expected in May thanks to the automotive industry and energy production, the federal statistics office said on Monday.
Production rose by 1.2% over the previous month, above the flat figure expected.
British house prices stagnated month-on-month during June, figures from Halifax showed on Monday, with the mortgage lender revising up May’s reading to show a 0.3% drop rather than a 0.4% drop.
The data underlined the subdued state of Britain’s housing market following an increase in tax on property transactions that took effect in April.
Capgemini to buy WNS Holdings
In the corporate sector, French software firm Capgemini (EPA:CAPP) said on Monday it has entered a deal to acquire New York-listed outsourcing firm WNS Holdings (NYSE:WNS) for $3.3 billion.
Capgemini aims to create a consulting business service focused on guiding enterprises on how to reform their operations using AI, which it said would attract "significant" investments.
Shell (AS:SHEL) said it expects a weaker second quarter driven by lower trading performance in its Integrated Gas and Chemicals and Products segments.
Oil prices retreat after OPEC+ lifts production
Crude prices fell Monday after OPEC+ announced plans to increase output more than expected in August, sparking concerns that the market will become oversupplied.
At 03:05 ET, Brent futures dropped 0.2% to $68.18 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.1% to $66.46 a barrel.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, announced on Saturday that it will increase oil output by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August.
The hike is larger than the 411,000 bpd increases already implemented for May, June, and July.
The group also warned that it will consider another 548,000 bpd hike in September at the next meeting on August 3.
The decision marks a continued rollback of the voluntary 2.2 million bpd in cuts that major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia had initiated earlier this year to support prices.