【Europe】European Stock Markets Breathe a Sigh of Relief, Buoyed by Calm in Precious Metals

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Editor’s Note

European and U.S. markets opened February with gains, even as a sharp sell-off in precious metals signaled underlying investor caution.

Les Bourses européennes respirent, portées par l'accalmie sur les métaux précieux
Markets Rebound Amid Precious Metals Sell-off

European stock markets closed the first session of the week and of February on a positive note, in a climate of caution fueled by a strong selling movement in precious metals. The CAC 40 rose by 0.67%, to 8,181 points, and the EuroStoxx 50 by 1.04% to 6,009 points.
In New York, indices were also trending upwards with the Dow Jones up 0.92% around 5:45 PM and the Nasdaq up 0.50%.
Gold and silver declined after Friday’s appointment of Kevin Warsh to head the Fed. The decline continued this Monday after the CME raised margin requirements, forcing investors to reduce their leveraged positions and weighing on the overall markets.
The yellow metal pared its losses after falling by up to 10%, returning to around $4,400 per ounce after a peak of $5,600 last week. Silver, briefly down 16%, erased most of its decline.

Manufacturing PMIs Show Growth

On the statistical front, the HCOB PMI for the French manufacturing industry, calculated by S&P Global, reached a 43-month high and indicates an acceleration in sector growth at the start of 2026. It rose from 50.7 in December to 51.2 in January.
Meanwhile, the UK manufacturing PMI rose in January to 51.8, its highest level since August 2024, driven by a strong increase in new orders, a sign of recovery after a gloomy end to the year.
US manufacturing activity returned to growth territory in January, with the ISM PMI rising to 52.6. This is an unprecedented level since August 2022 and marks the first time it has crossed above the 50-point threshold in a year, despite persistent risks related to tariffs and supply chain tensions.

ECB in the Crosshairs

Following the Fed last week, market participants will learn about the monetary policy decisions of the Bank of England and the ECB on Thursday.

“Ahead of the February meeting, we expect the ECB to keep the deposit facility rate (DFR) unchanged for the fifth consecutive time, at 2%. With inflation broadly in line with the target, growth close to trend, and labor markets still strong, the ECB has little reason to adjust its policy at this stage. Although medium-term inflation risks are still debated, we believe the Governing Council will ignore slight deviations from the target, due to energy, and keep its rates steady for the foreseeable future, as wage and services inflation continues to normalize,” said Konstantin Veit, portfolio manager at PIMCO.
Corporate Moves and Currency

Furthermore, fears around AI resurfaced during the earnings season. Jensen Huang confirmed that Nvidia still plans to invest in OpenAI, while tempering market expectations after reports of a frozen $100 billion investment project.
In Paris, TotalEnergies (-0.85%) recorded the third largest decline on the CAC 40, penalized by a drop of more than 2% in oil prices against a backdrop of easing tensions between Iran and the United States.
In Europe, Danish jeweler Pandora climbed more than 9%, benefiting from the fall in precious metals.
In New York, Walt Disney (-4.42%) disappointed the market despite better-than-expected first-quarter performance.
At the close, the euro gave up 0.35% to 1.1806 USD.

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⏰ Published on: February 02, 2026