Europe midday: Stoxx slips as Trump pressures Zelenskyy ahead of talks
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Monday 18 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - European shares slipped into negative territory at midday on Monday as US President Donalkd Trump effectively sided with Russia and pressured Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept a peace deal ahead of a crunch meeting in Washington between the two men and European leaders to discuss ending the conflict.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.20% at 552. Germany's DAX was down 0.39% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.19%, while the UK's FTSE 100 gave up morning gains to be 0.05% lower.
Sentiment was hit when Trump, who has largely aligned the US with Russia, said overnight that Zelenskyy could end the war with Russia "almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight".
He also ruled out Ukraine joining Nato or regain Crimea - a key demand from Moscow. The meeting follows Trump's short summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, which ended without a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy will be joined by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"The future of Ukraine hangs heavy in the balance as Zelenskyy, flanked by European leaders, prepares to meet Trump. Putin's high bar for a peace deal may scupper hopes for an end to the conflict, but with more details emerging about what land could be ceded or retained in Eastern Ukraine, there does seem be more substance to the talks," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter.
There was a dearth or corporate news to drive trade in the middle of the August holiday period. Shares in UK food producer Cranswick were down after new allegations of cruelty towards piglets at another of its farms emerged on the weekend.
Vestas shares surged more than 16.4% to top the Stoxx after the US Treasury published guidelines for the qualification of wind and solar subsidies for projects to 2030. The news boosted other renewables shares, with EDP Renonvaveis, Orsted and RWE all higher.
Novo Nordisk jumped as the drugmaker's weight-loss drug Wegovy received an accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat a serious liver condition.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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