European Shares Poised For Mixed Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening mixed on Monday after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end the West Asia conflict.

The U.S. and Iran rejected each other's latest peace proposals to end the war in the Middle East, keeping the Strait of Hormuz largely closed and raising doubts about the durability of a fragile ceasefire.

Iran has delivered its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal, which is understood to include ending the conflict, opening the Strait of Hormuz and rolling back Iran's nuclear program.

Rejecting what it described as Washinton's "excessive demands," Tehran has reportedly called for a broader settlement that includes ending hostilities on multiple fronts, including Lebanon, and ensuring the security of maritime trade routes.

The country wants talks to focus on a permanent end to the war rather than a temporary ceasefire.

Iran "has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years," U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social and later called the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives' "totally unacceptable."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neanyahu said that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium must be "taken out" before the conflict with Iran can be considered over.

Looking beyond the tensions in the Middle East, investors also await cues from an upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the Fed's leadership transition and the release of U.S. inflation data.

Trump will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping for a two-say summit starting Thursday. May 15 marks Jerome Powell's final day as chair of the Federal Reserve, though he'll remain on the board of governors.

On the earnings front, several prominent companies including Cisco Systems and Applied Materials are scheduled to report their financial results this week.

Asian markets were mixed, with South Korea's Kospi surging 5 percent to hit a new peak, boosted by an extended rally of blue-chip semiconductor shares.

Data showed earlier in the day that China's consumer inflation continued a mild recovery in April while producer inflation surged to a 45-month high.

U.S. stock futures wobbled, while the dollar climbed as the conflict in the Middle East entered its 11th week.

Brent crude futures jumped more than 4 percent to trade at $105.47 a barrel while gold held below $4,700 an ounce on worries about oil-driven inflation.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday on the back of upbeat jobs data and strength in Nvidia, SanDisk and other AI-related stocks.

Data showed non-farm payroll employment shot up by 115,000 jobs in April, while analysts had expected an increase of 63,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent, reinforcing expectations the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged for some time.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.8 percent to notch record closing highs while the narrower Dow finished marginally higher.

European stocks ended lower on Friday after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Trump threatened "much higher" tariffs against the EU.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he will not step down after hits Labor Party suffered major losses in local elections.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.7 percent. The German DAX dropped 1.3 percent, France's CAC 40 lost 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.4 percent.