European stocks extend gains ahead of US-Russia talks

European stocks rose on Monday, building on last week’s strong momentum, supported by optimism about a potential peace agreement in Ukraine, while investors turned their attention to upcoming US inflation data and tariff negotiations later in the week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% by 0708 GMT, hovering near its highest level since July 31.

The prospect of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine weighed on German defense companies.

According to Reuters, shares in German defense company Rheinmetall fell 3.7%, while shares in Renk and Hensoldt fell 3% and 2.1%, respectively. Ørsted shares fell 22% after the Danish wind farm developer announced it planned to issue a 60 billion Danish kroner ($9.4 billion) rights issue, citing unfavorable developments in the U.S. offshore wind market.

Northern Data shares fell about 3% after Rumble, a U.S. video platform and cloud services provider, said it was considering a roughly $1.17 billion offer for the German AI cloud group.