Global Stocks Mostly Higher Amid European Support for Ukraine

By Michael SusinGlobal stocks were mostly higher Monday ahead of key U.S. data this week, with stocks lifted by muted optimism that Europe could step in to support Ukraine and increase defense spending.The European Stoxx 600 rose 0.1% shortly after the market opened, with Germany's DAX up 0.2%. The FTSE 100 advanced 0.3%, while France's CAC 40 rose 0.3%.European defense stocks led broad gains across stock markets and the euro recovered from Friday's two-week low against the dollar as investors digested European leaders' push for a 'coalition of the willing' on Ukraine.Among the stocks, BAE rose 16%, Thales 14%, and Rheinmetall and Leonardo both gained 16%.Asian shares were mixed, with Hong Kong giving up early gains ahead of the National People's Congress meeting starting this week. The NPC, the country's most influential decision-making body, meets amid mounting tensions between the U.S. and China due to Trump's additional 10% tariff on Beijing, effective Tuesday.The Hang Seng tech index was down 0.9% while Shanghai closed 0.1% lower. Nikkei closed 1.7% higher on ebbing concerns of higher borrowing costs. The yuan weakened slightly against the dollar in offshore and onshore markets ahead of the NPC meeting.The week brings key U.S. economic data, including the Fed's Beige Book on Wednesday, initial unemployment claims Thursday, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report and unemployment rate for February on Friday.The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 22 points Monday morning, S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Nasdaq Composite futures increased 0.3%.The gold price ticked up 0.06% to $2,860.19 an ounce as investors sought safe haven.Brent crude and WTI were little changed, while European benchmark natural gas was up 5.8% to 46.88 euros a megawatt hour.Eurozone government bond yields were trading by 2 to 3.5 basis points higher with the 10-year German Bund yield up 3 basis points at 2.420%, according to Tradeweb. Eurozone bond markets are focused on the European Central Bank's meeting Thursday, with markets widely expecting a 25-basis-point rate cut.The dollar fell after the U.S. commerce secretary said Sunday that tariffs on Canada and Mexico would take effect Tuesday but U.S. President Trump had yet to decide whether to press ahead with the planned 25% level. That could signal some room for the tariff to be lower, Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.Elsewhere, bitcoin rose sharply and could extend its recovery after Trump announced the creation of a strategic crypto reserve. It was last up 9.3% to $92,090. On his Truth Social platform Sunday, Trump said the crypto reserve would include bitcoin, ether, XRP, Solana's SOL token and Cardano's ADA.Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this article.Write to Michael Susin at [email protected]