Squawk Box Europe Express

European equities futures point south as Wall Street is set to return to trading following the President’s Day holiday. A.I. concerns remain with the Nasdaq stuck deep in the red. Eurogroup ministers meet in Brussels to plan to strengthen the euro’s role globally. The bloc is also preparing to unveil new draft laws designed to protect key sectors of industry. In Geneva, a second round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are due to begin with President Trump indirectly involved. Officials from Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. also meet for another round of peace negotiations.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists that Washington wants to reform rather than abandon the trans-Atlantic alliance. We speak exclusively to German foreign minister Johann Wadephul at the Munich Security Conference who says Rubio’s speech assured the path of future cooperation. European equities are called higher while U.S. markets are shut for President’s Day with A.I. concerns continuing to be felt across sectors. Japanese Q4 GDP disappoints, coming in at only 0.2 per cent on the year and far below expectations.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI disruption fears hit equity markets once again, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower with transport, commercial real estate and software stocks all under pressure. Meanwhile, global leaders gather for the Munich Security Conference as U.S. allies in Europe look to chart a more independent course. And in corporate news, L'Oreal Q4 sales miss expectations as strong numbers out of the U.S. and Europe fail to offset weakness in China, sending U.S.-listed shares sharply lower, but CEO Nicolas Hieronimus tells CNBC he's confident the French beauty giant will bounce back.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

U.S. stocks give up an initial bounce as investors digest a mixed jobs report - the headline figure more than double expectations but growth for last year revised lower. German industrial giant Siemens raises its outlook after posting a 10% jump in first quarter orders, but Mercedes full year earnings more than halve as the automaker takes a €1 billion hit from tariff costs. And in Japan, Softbank notches a fourth straight quarter of profit, boosted by rising valuations of its stakes in AI giants Nvidia and Open AI.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Futures stretch into the green on both sides of the Atlantic as investors await a crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls print with the White House aiming to temper expectations. Dutch brewing giant Heineken announces it will be slashing thousands of jibs in the next two years and it has lowered its FY growth forecast after weak demand for its beers. German lender Commerzbank enjoys a Q4 beat on the top and bottom line and expects net profit for the year to top expectations. CEO Bettina Orlopp tells CNBC the bank is always open to renewed interest from Unicredit. On Wall Street, shares in U.S. financial stocks plunge following the unveiling of Altruist’s new A.I.-powered tax planning tool. We hear from Anthoropic’s CCO Paul Smith who says his company is set on extracting real value from A.I.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.