European stocks move lower ahead of Trump-Ukraine crunch talks

LONDON — European stocks lost some ground on Monday as traders looked ahead to a meeting between regional leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss Ukraine.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.2% lower by 11:19 a.m. in London (6:19 a.m. ET), with most sectors and all major bourses in negative territory.

European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are traveling with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington to meet Trump at the White House to discuss a peace deal.

Zelenskyy is likely to come under pressure to enter a deal. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the president could “end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.”

The meeting follows Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, but the talks concluded without a ceasefire. It’s been widely reported since then that Putin told Trump that he would agree to one, if Russia was handed Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. On Sunday, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff suggested Ukraine could be given some security guarantees to bring an end to the war.

Looking at individual stocks, shares of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind surged 16.5% by 11:20 a.m. in London, taking the company to the top of the Stoxx 600.

The gain came after the U.S. Internal Revenue Service issued new rules around tax credits for clean energy projects. Under the new system, developers will only be able to qualify once physical work on the project begins. Previously, they were able to claim tax relief by paying at least 5% of project costs and demonstrating that some form of work on the project was ongoing.

Meanwhile, shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk were up by 4% after the company’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy won regulatory approval in the United States to treat a serious liver disease.

At the other end of the Stoxx 600, Commerzbank was 3.3% lower in late morning trade in London.

The German lender was downgraded by strategists at Deutsche Bank on Monday, who lowered the stock from a “buy” rating to a “hold.”

“We continue to like the fundamental Commerzbank story, including rising profitability and capital return, as well as the upcoming benefits from the German fiscal stimulus,” Deutsche Bank’s Benjamin Goy said in a note. “Nevertheless, after tripling over the last year, the shares now trade at a 20% to 42% P/E premium to the sector, even on our above-consensus forecasts.”

Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose ahead of the talks, while U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher early Monday after hopes for lower interest rates fueled a winning week on Wall Street.

There are no major earnings on Monday. Data releases include Spanish and EU trade balance figures.