European stocks and the U.S. dollar gained ground on Monday amid a truncated trading session in Asia, as markets in Shanghai, Seoul, and Taipei remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Hong Kong and Singapore operated on half-day schedules.
With U.S. markets also shut for Presidents’ Day, attention now turns to forthcoming corporate earnings and economic data later in the week. “Attention will turn to company updates later in the week,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, highlighting Walmart’s scheduled annual results on Thursday as a key focus.
The move marks a tentative stabilisation for global equities following a technology-heavy sell-off last week. That decline was driven by investor concerns over the substantial capital expenditure on artificial intelligence infrastructure and the timeline for returns on such investments. This context frames the start of a five-day AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where figures like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Google’s Sundar Pichai are discussing the sector’s rapid growth alongside mounting societal and environmental risk debates.
Supporting the positive tone in equities, official data on Friday showed U.S. consumer inflation cooled slightly more than expected in January. Analysts interpreted the figure as reinforcing expectations for further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year to support economic growth. “US inflation data was good. And the initial response in equities reflected that,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
However, sentiment was mixed following news of sluggish economic expansion in Japan. The world’s fourth-largest economy grew by just 0.1 percent in the final quarter of 2025, data showed, weighing on the yen and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index. The weak growth could influence policy, with analysts suggesting it increases the likelihood of a suspension of the food sales tax and a supplementary budget under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration.
At approximately 1100 GMT, major European indices showed modest gains. The FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent to 10,466.39, the CAC 40 climbed 0.3 percent to 8,333.73, and the DAX added 0.1 percent to 24,926.47. Among Asian markets that traded, the Nikkei closed down 0.2 percent at 56,806.41, while the Hang Seng finished 0.5 percent higher at 26,705.94.
In currency markets, the dollar strengthened against the yen, moving to 153.53 from 152.71, but edged lower against the euro and pound. Oil prices saw minor increases, with Brent crude up 0.2 percent at $67.90 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $63.02.
The week’s limited trading activity due to regional holidays redirects focus to the stream of U.S. corporate earnings and the evolving discourse on AI’s economic impact, which continues to inform market volatility and valuation debates.
