Commodities Again "On Fire," European Stocks Rise
European stocks closed slightly higher on Monday (January 26), with the main boost coming from the mining sector, which also benefited from the commodity price rally.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose around 0.2% at the close. Besides mining, utilities also supported the gains, reflecting investor interest in defensive stocks amid a still-choosy market.
On the other hand, the travel & leisure sector was held back. Sentiment in this sector was weighed down by news of flight disruptions in the US and the Middle East, coupled with more cautious guidance from Ryanair, which caused market participants to temper expectations.
Overall, European stocks began to recover some of the pressure from last week, after markets digested news that President Donald Trump had canceled planned tariffs on European countries related to the Greenland issue. The "risk-off" sentiment has eased, but not completely disappeared.
The focus next shifts to the earnings season. Investors will be monitoring the latest earnings releases to gauge whether consumer demand remains strong or has begun to slow amid global uncertainty.
According to Ulrich Urbahn of Berenberg, the market's cautious tone of earnings expectations could still be positively responded to—suggesting a relatively supportive environment for equities, as long as negative surprises don't dominate.
Globally, market attention is also focused on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to hold interest rates on Wednesday, and speculation about Jerome Powell's replacement, which Trump is expected to announce as soon as this week.
For individual stocks, Neste jumped about 6.1% after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating to overweight, assessing that there is still room for performance despite a strong rally throughout 2025. Conversely, Teleperformance fell about 7.7% after CIC Market Solutions downgraded its rating and cut its price target.
Source: Newsmaker.id
