Europe’s markets and politics struck a cautious tone on Tuesday as investors and policymakers grappled with rising uncertainty.
The FTSE 100 slipped from record highs as heavyweight stocks fell and traders positioned ahead of a crucial Bank of England rate decision.
In France, authorities escalated scrutiny of X, raiding its Paris offices in a widening cybercrime probe.
Meanwhile, geopolitical stakes rose sharply as NATO chief Mark Rutte warned that any Russia-Ukraine peace deal would involve “difficult choices,” even as fresh attacks battered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
FTSE 100 pulls back from record highs
London’s FTSE 100 pulled back from a record high on Tuesday, dipping 0.4% to 10,339 points after touching 10,373 earlier.
AstraZeneca shares tanked 1.5% when US regulators knocked back its easier-to-use lupus drug Saphnelo, pushing approval to H1 2026.
Energy stocks like Shell and BP slid 1% each as oil prices eased amid US-Iran de-escalation hopes.
Miners bucked the trend, with Endeavour Mining up 5% and Fresnillo soaring 43% on a gold price surge, its biggest since 2008, while Anglo American gained 4% on copper demand bets.
Investors stayed jittery ahead of Thursday’s Bank of England meeting, expected to hold rates at 3.75%.
UK grocery inflation eased to 4%, the lowest since April, easing consumer pain.
French officials raid X headquarters
Paris prosecutors raided X’s French headquarters on Tuesday, executing searches through their cybercrime unit backed by Europol and the French national cybercrime squad.
The investigation, opened in January 2025 following complaints of algorithm manipulation and dodgy data extraction, has now expanded.
New allegations center on Grok, X’s AI chatbot, accused of generating Holocaust denial content and non-consensual sexual deepfakes of minors, criminal offenses in France.
Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino have been summoned for voluntary interviews on April 20. The prosecutor’s office publicly ditched X, switching to LinkedIn and Instagram for updates.
X denies everything, calling it politically motivated.
‘Difficult choices’ in play for Russia-Ukraine peace
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Tuesday, stressing that any peace deal ending Russia’s war in Ukraine will demand “difficult choices.”
Speaking to parliament, he pledged Europe, America, and Canada stand ready to provide robust security guarantees, including potential troop deployments by some European allies, with Washington as backup.
Rutte insisted any peace “must last,” requiring strong armed forces plus ironclad security commitments.
He highlighted NATO’s PURL program supplying 90% of Ukraine’s air-defense missiles, underscoring the alliance’s military backing.
The visit came hours after Russia unleashed 450+ drones and 70 missiles, hitting energy infrastructure as temperatures hit minus 20°C.
Peace talks resume Wednesday-Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
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