European shares see monthly declines as markets eye trade developments

FRANKFURT: European stocks ended lower in broad-based declines on Monday, closing out June with monthly losses as investors monitored for signs of any progress on US trade talks as the July tariff deadline loomed large.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.4% lower, clocking a more than 1% decline for the month.

Global equities suffered losses this month as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East saw investors shy away from risky assets such as stocks.

Despite June’s losses, the benchmark saw a second successive quarterly rise, rebounding sharply from its April lows when US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs roiled financial markets.

Since then, the index last stood more than 7% higher in the first half of the year, compared to a more than 5% rise in the US S&P 500.

On Monday, heavyweight health care were the biggest drags, while miners also lagged with a 1.1% fall.

Germany’s Bayer fell 5.3% after the US Supreme Court asked the Trump administration for its views on the pharmaceutical group’s bid to sharply limit lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer and potentially avert billions of dollars in damages. In the latest on the global trade front, Canada scrapped its digital services tax targeting US technology firms just hours before it was due to take effect, while the British government said the trade deal that reduced US tariffs on UK cars and aircraft parts has come into effect.

Focus has been shifting to the July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States.

“Our baseline expectation is that the administration will seek to roll forward the July 9 deadline, citing at least some progress on trade deals and extending it to allow more time on the clock for these bilateral talks to progress,” Morgan Stanley analysts said.

In other stock moves, European renewable energy stocks including Vestas, EDP Renovaveis and Orsted slid as a bill in the US Senate - which includes provisions to phase out solar, wind and energy tax credits by 2028 - progressed further.

European banks slid 0.3%, with Germany’s Deutsche Bank leading declines with a 3.2% fall.

On the data front, preliminary estimates showed German inflation eased in June, while Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP) rose a preliminary 0.2% month-on-month in June.