This is CNBC’s live blog covering European markets.
European markets moved lower on Wednesday, as investors reacted to a historic policy reform in Germany and developments on a ceasefire in Ukraine, while awaiting key monetary policy updates.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.1% lower at 9:31 a.m. in London, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Germany’s DAX index led regional losses, shedding 0.3% during early deals.
It comes after German lawmakers voted on Tuesday to reform the country’s so-called debt brake rule, which will allow a greater national spend on defense and permit the creation of a 500 billion euro ($546 billion) climate and infrastructure fund.
A downward move in the DAX — home to Germany’s biggest companies — would end three consecutive days of gains for the index, which has added 17% since the beginning of the year.
European markets closed higher on Tuesday in the wake of Germany’s debt reform vote.
Traders are also reacting to news that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to taking steps toward a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Global investors are also awaiting the latest monetary policy updates from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
The Fed is not expected to make any changes to its key interest rate when it meets on Wednesday.
The Bank of England, whose Monetary Policy Committee will convene on Thursday, is also widely expected to hold it key interest rate steady at 4.5%, amid signs of a slowdown in the U.K. economy.
Across the Atlantic, stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning as traders awaited the update from the Fed. That came after U.S. stocks saw a widespread selloff in Tuesday’s session.
Overnight in Asia, markets traded mixed following Tuesday’s Wall Street sell-off.
Rio Tinto urges shareholders to reject Palliser Capital’s unification push
A Rio Tinto worker looks at a ship that is loaded with bauxite, the raw material for aluminum, at Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations in Cape York, on the north-eastern tip of Australia March 7, 2019.
Rio Tinto has called on its shareholders to reject hedge fund Palliser Capital’s ongoing push for a unification of the dual-listed mining giant.
The firm currently operates under a dual listed companies (DLC) structure, and it is divided into Rio Tinto PLC — traded on the London Stock Exchange — and Rio Tinto Limited — listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The two companies’ boards of directors are made up of the same individuals.
On Wednesday, Rio Tinto said London-based Palliser Capital — a major shareholder in the company — had requisitioned a directive for the formation a committee of independent directors, to examine whether unifying the firm into a single Australian holding company would be in shareholders’ best interests.
Rio Tinto’s board urged shareholders to reject the motion at its annual general meetings in April and May.
“The Board has already conducted a robust and comprehensive review of a unification of the DLC with five leading external advisers, the conclusions of which are clear,” it said in a statement on Wednesday. “A unification of the DLC would be value destructive for the Group and its shareholders.”
Toward the end of 2024, Palliser wrote to Rio Tinto’s board of directors to call for the unification of the DLC into a single Australian domiciled holding company.
It argued at the time that the DLC structure had destroyed around $50 billion in shareholder value since Rio Tinto became dual listed three decades ago. In the Wednesday statement, Rio Tinto labeled assertions about $50 billion of value erosion “both unfounded and misleading.”
Shares of Rio Tinto were 1% lower at 9:30 a.m. London time.
— Chloe Taylor
Bank of England expected to keep rates on hold
Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank Of England, pauses before the start of the Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank Of England on February 6, 2025 in London, England.
The Bank of England is widely expected to hold interest rates when it meets on Thursday, as the U.K. faces economic headwinds both at home and abroad.
The central bank is highly likely to keep its benchmark interest rate at 4.5% at its March meeting, given the unpredictability of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and a fledgling global trade war, and how those factors could affect inflation in the U.K.
— Holly Ellyatt
Santander says 750 jobs at risk as it pursues UK branch closures
A sign hangs from a branch of Banco Santander in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.
The British unit of Spanish lender Santander on Wednesday said 750 of its staff were at risk of redundancy as it targets 95 branch closures in the U.K.
— Ruxandra Iordache
Opening calls
London’s FTSE 100 is expected to be little changed at the open, according to IG, while the French CAC 40 is expected to shed 0.2% and the German DAX is slated to open around 0.5% lower.
A downward move in the DAX — home to Germany’s biggest companies — would end three consecutive days of gains for the index, which has added 17.4% since the beginning of the year.
— Chloe Taylor
