European markets open to close, earnings, data and news

British oil giant Shell is considering ditching the London Stock Exchange for a listing in New York, the Telegraph newspaper reported Monday.

CEO Wael Sawan said that the company was looking into “all options” amid concerns that it was not getting enough support from investors.

“I have a location that clearly seems to be undervalued,” he said.

The departure of the FTSE 100’s largest company would mark a major blow for the U.K. stock market, which has been struggling to retain its prominence amid weak economic growth and market uncertainty caused by Brexit.

A Shell spokesperson told CNBC that the comments follow plans outlined in the company’s June 2023 Capital Markets Day to close a perceived “valuation gap.”

“Beyond 2025, if the valuation hasn’t got to where we think it should be, then as Wael has said publicly on several occasions, we will explore other options,” the spokesperson added.

— Karen Gilchrist

Better-than-expected German industrial production figures released Monday suggest “an end of stagnation in the first quarter,” Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, said in a note.

Industrial production rose by 2.1% month-on-month in February, well above the 0.3% growth expected by analysts polled by Reuters.

“While sentiment indicators in German industry have been stuck at low levels since late last summer, this morning’s industrial data already points to an end of stagnation in the first quarter,” Brzeski said.

The expected lowering of interest rates by the European Central Bank, lower energy prices and U.S. economic strength will be supportive for German industry, he said.

However, he stressed it was not the start of a “significant recovery” given recent weakness in industrial orders and inventory reduction.

— Jenni Reid

Gold prices on Monday extended their record-breaking run, notching another all-time high amid robust U.S. economic data and elevated geopolitical tensions.

Spot gold prices rose 0.5% to trade at $2,342 per ounce at around 11:45 a.m. London time, after briefly hitting a fresh record of $2,353 earlier in the session. The yellow metal has repeatedly logged all-time highs in recent weeks.

However Bob Parker, senior advisor at trade body International Capital Markets Association, says that fundamentals for gold paint a bearish picture ahead. That includes U.S. dollar strength, rising bond yields, doubts creeping in over the Federal Reserve’s rate cutting plans and “reasonably” low inflation.

“All of those factors actually suggest that upside in gold, frankly, is minimal and I think gold is now very vulnerable to a setback,” Parker said.

Read the full story here.

— Sam Meredith

The Federal Reserve is determined not to reduce interest rates too soon — and some economists say recent data has pushed a summer cut completely off the table.

Friday’s jobs report reiterated the seemingly unwavering strength of the U.S. labor market and suggested further need for Fed caution. All eyes will now be on Wednesday’s consumer price index, after February’s annual inflation rate of 3.2% came in slightly higher than expected.

George Lagarias, chief economist at Mazars, told CNBC on Monday that rate cuts in the summer were now looking much less likely.

“This is a strong economy. Make no mistake, it is backed by debt and somewhat by overburdened credit cards, but it is a strong economy. So the Fed will struggle to find the case to cut rates soon,” Lagarias said.

“The Fed has been punishing itself ever since 2021 when ‘team transitory’ ostensibly got it wrong… What they feel is that they can’t get it wrong again, which means that they’re more likely to err on the side of caution,” Lagarias added.

Read the full story here.

— Jenni Reid

Shares of French IT consultancy Atos were 30% higher in mid-morning deals after leading shareholder Onepoint said investor Butler Industries was joining a consortium to rescue the firm.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal last week said it was a national priority to secure the financial security of the distressed company. Its projects involve communications for the French military and secret services and supercomputer manufacturing, and it is set to manage cybersecurity for this summer’s Paris…