Discussions between the United States and Iran to find a lasting resolution to the conflict are stalling, as Washington rejected Tehran's latest proposals. This impasse is supporting oil prices, with Brent crude currently trading around 105 USD.

'Events in the Middle East are likely to remain the primary market concern, but Donald Trump's visit to Beijing should also capture a significant share of attention', notes Michael Brown, strategist at Pepperstone.

Beijing summit in focus

The U.S. President is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15. 'Trade, investment, and geopolitics (Iran and Taiwan) will likely be on the agenda', according to Societe Generale.

The bank believes the United States might prioritize seeking stable relations with China on this occasion, given the context of the war in the Middle East and Washington's seemingly diminished leverage over Beijing.

'Since their first trade war in 2018, China's efforts to secure supply chains and gain technological autonomy appear to have progressively reduced American influence', the bank explains.

Another busy week for data and earnings

Only existing home sales are on the statistical calendar this Monday, but the coming days will see the release of April inflation, retail sales, and industrial production data in the United States.

On this side of the Atlantic, the French unemployment rate, inflation figures from several European countries, the German ZEW index, and growth estimates for the Eurozone and the UK are scheduled for this week.

On the corporate earnings front, reports are expected from the likes of Compass, Siemens Energy, KBC Group, Allianz, Siemens, and Deutsche Telekom in Europe, as well as Cisco and Applied Materials in the United States.

Sequential decline in Euronext volumes for April

In Paris equity news, Euronext disclosed its monthly activity figures for April, showing a decline in volumes compared to March, which had been particularly active following the outbreak of the Middle East conflict.

Colas, a division of Bouygues, announced that its subsidiary Destia has signed the contract for the second phase of the Vantaa tramway project in Finland. As part of the construction alliance, the contract represents approximately 200 million euros for the company.

Vallourec announced the renewal of its Platinum medal from EcoVadis. With a score of 86 out of 100, the company maintains its position in the top 1% of global firms assessed by the CSR rating specialist.