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European shares gain monthly on Middle East Peace Hopes
European shares edged higher on Friday to close the month with gains. Investors clung to hopes that a proposed agreement could be reached extending a Middle East truce and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Market optimism was sparked by reports that U.S. president Donald Trump had been weighing a preliminary U.S. Iran agreement. He said that he would reach a decision on the deal by Friday. Kathleen Brooks is the research director for XTB. She said that the market may test its patience if a deal cannot be reached by the end of June. This could have a major impact on the oil price as well as the rally in the global stock markets. The STOXX 600 pan-European index rose 0.1%, to 626 points. This was a positive week's end. The benchmark index was 'within striking range of record highs this week, and had secured a monthly gain of 2.5%. However, recent escalation in the Middle East conflict has capped further advancements. European stocks?continue?to lag behind tech-heavy counterparts in Asia and the United States because of the region's limited?exposure to technology stocks. Marija Veitmane is the head of equity analysis at State Street. When asked if a geopolitical solution?could spark a major rally Marija said no, pointing to structural demand destruction as well as looming rates hikes which could impact corporate profitability. The data confirmed the hawkish view, with inflation in four of the largest eurozone economies above the European Central Bank’s 2% target rate for the third consecutive month. Investors are pricing in 50 basis points tightening before year's end, according to LSEG. Crude oil prices, which are a vital resource in Europe's energy crisis, have fallen and could be on course for their first drop in two months. Airline stocks, such as Lufthansa, Air France, and consumer discretionary stocks, like luxury, are sensitive to energy price changes. Both have added more than 2%. Defence stocks are among the top sectors with a 0.7% increase. NATO has accused Moscow of reckless behavior and promised to "defend each inch of allied territory" following Romania's report that a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the member state of NATO during an attack against Ukraine. During geopolitical conflict, the sector usually gains on increased military spending. CTS Eventim rose 10.7% after the German ticket company said that its revenue grew by 23% during the first quarter of 2026. This was due to strong demand for live performances. Orkla shares fell 5.3% as UBS downgraded it from "neutral" to "sell", citing the increasing pressure from inflation and the Middle East Conflict. (Reporting and editing by Johann M Cherian, Bengaluru. Sherry Jacob Phillips, Joyjeet Das, Joe Bavier.
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Britain will step up its subsea cables protection in response to the rising Russian threat
Britain has proposed tougher punishments for shipowners or operators who damage'subsea cables,' including prison sentences. The aim is to deter Russia and hostile?states sabotaging the nation's infrastructure. Subsea cable carries over 99% of international data traffic. This includes calls, messages, and other internet services, as well as more than PS1.4 trillion worth of British financial transactions every day. Last month, Britain claimed to have exposed a Russian covert submarine operation around UK waters. This was a bluff? to hide other specialist vessels operating near critical underwater infrastructure. Liz Lloyd, the Telecoms Minister said that Britain had strong military capabilities for protecting cables. However, overhauling 140 year-old legislation will remove a "grey zone" of legal uncertainty around suspected malicious activities to increase deterrence. She said that "as hostile activity from Russia and other countries grows, protecting these cable is more important than ever" for our economy, daily life, and security. "That's why we intend to go further, with tougher sanctions for reckless damage and stronger security obligations as well as new powers to react quickly when incidents occur." Russia previously denied British allegations that it had threatened or targeted subsea cable. Lloyd said sabotage committed by an enemy state already carries a life sentence for the perpetrators, but that new laws will cover the use of proxy actors by state actors as well as reckless damage. She said that the government would also "work with cable operators and owner to reduce accidental damages arising from fishing activities or vessels dragging their anchors which, she said, "accounted for almost all cable outages". Lloyd stated that the company was consulting with industry about establishing a British repair ship in order to increase resilience. He added that a final decision would be made 'later this year. She added that the government would also examine?environmental regulations to accelerate the laying down of new cables in deep water where the impact on marine wildlife was very limited. (Reporting and editing by Kirsten Doovan; Paul Sandle is the reporter)
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South Bow aims for a decision in 2027 on Canada-US oil pipe revival
The company announced on Friday that it had secured the shipper agreements it needed to move the project forward. The proposed 550,000-barrel-per-day Alberta-to-Wyoming pipeline, dubbed Prairie Connector, could increase Canada's crude exports to the U.S. by 12%, ?adding much-needed Canadian pipeline capacity. South Bow, in collaboration with its U.S.-based partner Bridger Pipeline, has said that it had'secured 20 year binding contracts' from oil companies, through a process started this year to gauge interest. This?month, sources said that South Bow is close to achieving its goal of 450,000 bpd or 80% initial pipeline capacity. PIPELINE - PARTLY ASSEMBLED in Canada South Bow was spun off by TC Energy, the former Keystone XL promoter, in 2024 to takeover its oil pipeline business. The new pipeline will not use the same route in the United States as an earlier project, which was canceled by former President Joe Biden in 2021. However, some of the Keystone XL pipe that has already been assembled on the Canadian border would be used. The new proposal has been granted a cross-border permit by U.S. president Donald Trump. South Bow CEO Bevin Wizba said on Thursday that the company could not proceed until it had evidence of a "durable" permit, and that it would not be revoked in the future by another administration. TPH Energy analyst AJ O'Donnell said that while the open season was successful in securing?shipper's commitments, there are still lingering risks with the U.S. Permit. O'Donnell stated that "without assurances" that the new U.S. government would not revoke permits in 2029 as Biden did for KXL, it is likely the project will be stalled. South Bow hasn't publicly disclosed the price of its project. However, ATB Capital Markets analysts estimated that it would cost $2.2 billion ($3 billion C$) and could take between two and three years to complete after an investment decision. Canada is the fourth largest oil producer in the world, producing 5.5 million barrels per day. Forecasts indicate that this could rise to 6.1 millions bpd in 2030. Reporting by Amanda Stephenson, Calgary; Arathy Smasekhar, Houston Editing Rod Nickel
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US Travel Group warns that closing Newark Airport to international travel will cost $8 billion per year
The U.S. Travel Industry Group said that the removal of immigration officials from Newark Airport would cause "immediate harm and lasting harm". It could also strand Americans and cost the U.S. $8 billion in annual spending by tourists. U.S. Travel Association reported that U.S. Customs officials process 5,000,000 Americans returning to the United States annually at Newark Airport in New Jersey, near New York City. The group warned that "Americans from all over the country could have their flights to the U.S. canceled or diverted." The group said that "millions of international visitors would face the same disruption and, with the FIFA World Cup just weeks away, the damage done to America's image as a welcoming country would be significant and long-lasting." The group also added that a shutdown could threaten billions of dollars worth of imported cargo. The head of Homeland Security warned on Thursday that the Trump administration may soon stop processing international passengers and cargo at the 'Newark Airport because local law enforcement officials are not helping federal immigration officials up north in New Jersey. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that local police did not ensure that federal immigration officials were able to enter and exit a New Jersey Detention Center and warned that he would reassign Customs Officials from the Airport. Mullin stated on Tuesday that the Trump administration was preparing plans to stop the processing of international travelers and cargo in major U.S. Airports located in "sanctuary Cities" which have refused to cooperate with a?immigration clampdown. This could effectively stop international air travel at major airports of 'Democratic States,' as millions of tourists are expected to arrive for the start of FIFA World Cup next month. The final will take place on July 19, in East Rutherford (New Jersey), about 12 miles away from Newark Airport. The U.S. Justice Department has published a list of'sanctuary cities and states. This includes many major cities with international airports, including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago Los Angeles, New York City Newark, Seattle, and San Francisco. Last year, more than 50 millions international travelers visited the three main New York airports.
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There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.
As regional carriers re-build their schedules following war-related disruptions, some airlines are gradually restoring flights to the Middle East. However, the conflict continues disrupting wider traffic flows. Middle Eastern airlines have increased capacity following severe disruption caused by the Iran War, but many carriers outside of the Gulf still divert Europe-Asia flights to avoid the area. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece has cancelled flights between Thessaloniki and Tel Aviv up until June 26. Dubai flights are cancelled until August 31. Erbil, Baghdad and Erbil flights will be cancelled until July 2. AEROFLOT The Russian flag carrier announced that it would resume flights to the United Arab Emirates on June 1. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has announced that flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until the 28th of June. Dubai flights are cancelled until 24 October. AIR CANADA The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv up until the 28th of June. AIR FRANCE-KLM Air France has suspended Tel Aviv flights through June 7. Air France has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv until June 7. KLM suspends flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until July 12, and until August 2. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended all flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo services until May 31, and until August 31, respectively. The airline plans to continue all scheduled flights after June. The U.S. carrier plans to resume New York JFK-Tel Aviv flights from September 6 and has extended the suspension of services on the Atlanta-Tel Aviv routes through December 18. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv flight, originally scheduled for late October, has been delayed. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until 31 May. FINNAIR It has cancelled all flights to Doha until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will only resume Dubai flights in October. British Airways, owned by IAG, has decided to delay the resumption of flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv until August 1. It also plans to reduce Middle East flights when they resume and to permanently drop Jeddah from its list of destinations. The airline also plans to reduce the number of flights to?Dubai and Doha as well as Riyadh, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh to just one per day. Iberia Express, the Spanish low-cost carrier of IAG, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until August 1, as well as Doha-Tokyo until July 31. The Polish airline has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv till May 30. The airline has also cancelled its flights to Riyadh up until June 30, and to Beirut between March 31 and June 27. LOT will operate its winter route from Dubai to Riyadh in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Austrian Airlines plans to restart flights to Tel Aviv on June 1. SWISS, ITA Airways, and Lufthansa plan to resume flights in July. Brussels Airlines suspended its operations until October 24, ITA Airways, SWISS, and Lufthansa will continue to suspend flights until September 13 Until October 24, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended their flights to Abu Dhabi and other destinations, including Amman, Beirut and Dammam as well as Riyadh. Erbil, Muscat, Tehran and Riyadh are also affected. Eurowings, the low-cost carrier, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut and Erbil. ITA Airways has also extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh through June 30. MALAYSIA Airlines will resume limited service to Doha on July 2. NORWEGIAN AIR The low-cost airline has delayed the launch of its Tel Aviv, Beirut and Beirut services until June 15. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam Riyadh Abu Dhabi Sharjah until June 1. QANTAS Australia's national carrier has added flights to Rome, Paris and London to respond to a surge in demand on European routes. The number of flights to Paris will rise from three to five weekly return flights, and the Perth to Singapore service will go up from daily to ten a week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run through late July. ROYAL MAROC Moroccan carrier announced that flights to Doha and Dubai will be cancelled until 30 June. SINGAPORE Airlines To meet increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore to Dubai flight suspension until August 2. It also added services on Singapore-London Gatwick (late March) and Singapore-Melbourne (late March to October 24). TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights until June 30, including to Dubai, Bahrain and Erbil. WIZZ AIR Low-cost airlines resumed their flights to Tel Aviv from May 28, but flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as flights to Amman in Jordan remain suspended. All flights to Medina have been suspended permanently. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Loma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olenka, Bernadette HOG, Boleslaw LaSocki, Romolo Tosiani. Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Milla Nissi, Susan Fenton, Jonathan Ananda, Milla Nissi-Prussak, and Jonathan Ananda.
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Poland arrests employee of arms manufacturer suspected of spying
Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ, the Polish Defence Minister, announced on Friday that a PGZ employee had been detained on suspicion of spying for a foreign'state. Poland claims that its role as the hub for military supplies and other goods?to Ukraine makes it a 'target' for Russian spies who are trying to gather information on Kyiv’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion, as well?as to engage in sabotage. Kosiniak Kamysz reported on X that "On May 27,... the department of military affairs detained a Polish citizen, an employee of a PGZ Group facility, on suspicion of espionage for a 'foreign'state." The district court of 'Poznan' ordered, on May 29th this year, the implementation of preventive measures in the form of a?temporary arrest? for a period?of 3 months. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Anna Wlodarczak Semczuk)
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Indian airline IndiGo reports quarterly loss due to capacity restrictions and declining rupee
IndiGo, India's budget airline, reported a loss for the fourth quarter?on Friday. The country's leading airline was struggling with a deteriorating rupee and soaring fuel costs. The airline reported a loss for the quarter ending March 31 of 26.62 billion rupies ($280.2m), compared to a profit of 30,73 billion rupies in?the previous period. The airline was forced to reduce its domestic capacity in the third quarter by 10% after being ordered to do so by the aviation regulator of the country. This followed a series of mass cancellations that occurred during December, which led to the worst aviation crisis of the country and the sudden departure of the CEO. The revenue for the quarter grew by 1.3%. However, expenses increased at a faster rate, nearly 31%. IndiGo spends over 60% of its costs in dollars, directly or indirectly. A depreciating currency has also increased the overall cost for the company. IndiGo's forex loss was 48.82 billion rupees in the third quarter. This compares to a gain of 1.38 billion rupees a year ago. The airline's margins were also affected by the rising fuel prices as a result of supply restrictions following the war in Iran. IndiGo and other airlines that do not hedge their fuel have been struggling with the soaring prices of jet fuel as the Iran War pushed crude oil to over $100 per barrel. ($1 = 95.0000 Indian Rupees) (Reporting and editing by Nivedita Battacharjee in Bengaluru)
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China is against any country that uses freedom of navigation as a means to undermine China's sovereignty
China responded to the passage of a Canadian warship through the Taiwan Strait on Friday by saying that it firmly opposed 'any attempt' to undermine its security and sovereignty "under the pretense of freedom of Navigation". Canadian?media reported last week that the frigate HMCS Charlottetown 'transited' without being accompanied?by any allied ships. China asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, a democratically-governed island, and the strategic Taiwan Strait despite Taipei rejecting the claims. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that China respects all nations' rights to navigation as per international law. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said that the Taiwan Strait was an international waterway and all countries enjoyed a right to freedom of navigation. The ministry said it "closely monitored relevant developments by using joint?intelligence and surveillance mechanisms" but did not disclose proactively the movements of military vessels from allies. The Canadian Department of National Defence didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Reporting?by Joe Cash, Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard from Taipei, Writing by Liz Lee and Editing by Himani & Ros Russell.
Putin says that it is too early to determine if the drone that strayed in Romania was Russian
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said that it was still too early to say if a drone crashed into a Romanian apartment block. He suggested that the drone could have been Ukrainian.
NATO condemned Moscow for its reckless behavior and promised to "defend each inch of Allied Territory" after Romania reported that a Russian drone crashed into an apartment 'block' in the member state of the alliance during an attack against Ukraine.
"Who in Romania claims that this drone is Russian?" Putin asked reporters at a press conference in Astana (Kazakhstan) He claimed that he only heard about the incident after a day of talks. He said that until an investigation is carried out, no one could say what the origin was of a drone.
Putin claimed that drones from Ukraine had been seen in Finland, Poland, and the Baltic states.
Putin said: "The first reaction was the same as what is happening in Romania now, namely that Russians were coming." After a few days, it became clear that the incident had nothing to do with Russian drones.
Putin also responded to remarks made by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. Von der Leyen accused Russia of having crossed 'another line' with this incident and said that she hadn't examined the drone debris herself.
Putin asked Romania to'share information about what happened? and possibly drone fragments, so that Moscow can conduct its own investigation. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge/Maxim Rodionov. Editing by Andrew Osborn.
(source: Reuters)