European markets opened higher on Tuesday as uncertainty remained over the scope and breadth of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened 0.3% higher, while London’s FTSE 100 was up around 0.33%, and France’s CAC 40 was 0.5% higher.
Earnings come from Kingfisher and Smiths Group. On the data front, Germany’s Ifo Institute releases its latest business climate survey.
British oil major Shell gained almost 2% in early trading, after the company announced plans to boost investor returns, cut spend and doubled down on its liquified natural gas (LNG) push.
The autos sector is up almost 0.7%, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to implement tariffs on automobiles and a host of other sectors including the pharmaceuticals, lumber, and semiconductor industries.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed overnight as investors assessed Trump’s tariff threats while U.S. futures edged down marginally after the three key Wall Street indexes logged gains on Monday.
Wall Street remains on edge over a potential uptick in inflation and slowing economic growth as it awaits reciprocal tariffs from the Trump administration on April 2.
However, during Monday’s session, traders grew optimistic on news that the White House may narrow the scope of tariffs going into effect, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News.
Later Monday, Trump told the press that he “may give a lot of countries breaks” on reciprocal tariffs. He added that duties on certain sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and autos, would still be coming in the “near future.”
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim contributed to this market report.
B&Q owner Kingfisher slides 11% after annual profit falls
British home improvement giant Kingfisher fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 shedding 11% after reporting a 7% drop in annual profit.
The B&Q and Screwfix owner saw its adjusted pre-tax profit fall 7% to £528 million ($682.4 million) in 2024. Adjusted retail profit also fell 7% to £696 million, down from £749 million the previous year. Sales declined 1.5% to £12.8 billion.
The company pinned the decline in sales and profit on weakened consumer demand. Its outlook for 2025 is the same as the previous year, forecasting an annual adjusted pre-tax profit within the range of £480 million to £540 million.
“Looking to the year ahead, the recent government budgets in the UK and France have raised costs for retailers and impacted consumer sentiment in the near term,” CEO Thierry Garnier said. “With this in mind, we remain focused on what is in our control – progressing our strategic objectives at pace to deliver further market share gains, and continuing to manage gross margin, costs and cash effectively.”
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
Oil major Shell vows to boost investor returns, doubles down on LNG push
British oil major Shell on Tuesday announced plans to increase shareholder returns and cut spend, as it doubles down on its liquified natural gas (LNG) push.
In an announcement ahead of its Capital Markets Day 2025 event, the company said it would bolster shareholder distributions to 40-50% of cash flow from operations, up from a 30-40% range previously. It intends to stick to progressive dividends of 4% per year and to grow free cash flow per share by more than a yearly 10% through to 2030.
The oil major also said it will lower its spending to $20-22 billion per year through to 2028, after targeting such costs in a $22-25 billion range for 2024 and 2025 back in 2023.
The oil company separately said it aims to trim its structural cost reduction target from $2-3 billion by the end of this year to a cumulative $5-7 billion by the end of the three-year stretch to the end of 2028, compared with 2022 plans.
Read the full story here.
— Ruxandra Lordache
UK finance minister to reveal Britain’s growth will halve in 2025, FT reports
U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will share a forecast from the country’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is expected to show that the country’s economic growth will approximately halve in 2025, the Financial Times reported.
Reeves will deliver the Spring Statement on Wednesday, an annual speech made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, providing an update on the health of the U.K. economy and OBR’s forecasts.
The OBR is projecting that Britain’s growth will reduce from 2% to about 1% in 2025, according to the FT report. The Spring Statement is expected to show that Reeves’ £9.9 billion ($12.8 billion) fiscal buffer is gone, leaving her in a £4 billion deficit, sources familiar with the matter told the FT.
Reeves will also publish a government impact assessment of her £5 billion cuts to welfare spending and is expected to implement a further £5 billion cut to public spending.
A HM Treasury spokesperson told CNBC in an emailed statement that it doesn’t comment on speculation around OBR’s forecast.
“The Chancellor has also been clear that she would not repeat the likes of the October Budget and is now focused on growing the economy and rooting out waste in public spending through the Spending Review,” they added.
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open in negative territory Tuesday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 23 points lower at 8,617, Germany’s DAX down 50 points at 22,804, France’s CAC 11 points lower at 8,009 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 78 points lower at 38,207, according to data from IG.
Earnings come from Kingfisher and Smiths Group. On the data front, Germany’s Ifo Institute releases its latest business climate survey.
— Holly Ellyatt