German stocks fall
Germany’s DAX index was around 0.2% lower by 9:34 a.m. in London, putting it on track to end a three-day winning streak.
It came after lawmakers voted to reform public borrowing rules, paving the way for increased national defense spending.
Vonovia, down 2%, and Brenntag, which shed 1.7% during early trade, were among the biggest losers on the DAX.
The MDAX index — home to 50 German midcap companies — also moved lower on Wednesday morning, shedding 0.3%.
Traton and Hypoport sustained the MDAX’s biggest losses, down 4.6% and 3.8% respectively.
— Chloe Taylor
Rio Tinto urges shareholders to reject Palliser Capital’s unification push
A Rio Tinto worker looks at a ship that is loaded with bauxite, the raw material for aluminum, at Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations in Cape York, on the north-eastern tip of Australia March 7, 2019.
Melanie Burton | Reuters
Rio Tinto has called on its shareholders to reject hedge fund Palliser Capital’s ongoing push for a unification of the dual-listed mining giant.
The firm currently operates under a dual listed companies (DLC) structure, and it is divided into Rio Tinto PLC — traded on the London Stock Exchange — and Rio Tinto Limited — listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The two companies’ boards of directors are made up of the same individuals.
On Wednesday, Rio Tinto said London-based Palliser Capital — a major shareholder in the company — had requisitioned a directive for the formation a committee of independent directors, to examine whether unifying the firm into a single Australian holding company would be in shareholders’ best interests.
Rio Tinto’s board urged shareholders to reject the motion at its annual general meetings in April and May.
“The Board has already conducted a robust and comprehensive review of a unification of the DLC with five leading external advisers, the conclusions of which are clear,” it said in a statement on Wednesday. “A unification of the DLC would be value destructive for the Group and its shareholders.”
Toward the end of 2024, Palliser wrote to Rio Tinto’s board of directors to call for the unification of the DLC into a single Australian domiciled holding company.
It argued at the time that the DLC structure had destroyed around $50 billion in shareholder value since Rio Tinto became dual listed three decades ago. In the Wednesday statement, Rio Tinto labeled assertions about $50 billion of value erosion “both unfounded and misleading.”
Shares of Rio Tinto were 1% lower at 9:30 a.m. London time.
— Chloe Taylor
Bank of England expected to keep rates on hold
Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank Of England, pauses before the start of the Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank Of England on February 6, 2025 in London, England.
Kin Cheung – WPA Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The Bank of England is widely expected to hold interest rates when it meets on Thursday, as the U.K. faces economic headwinds both at home and abroad.
The central bank is highly likely to keep its benchmark interest rate at 4.5% at its March meeting, given the unpredictability of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and a fledgling global trade war, and how those factors could affect inflation in the U.K.
— Holly Ellyatt
Santander says 750 jobs at risk as it pursues UK branch closures
A sign hangs from a branch of Banco Santander in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg via Getty Images
The British unit of Spanish lender Santander on Wednesday said 750 of its staff were at risk of redundancy as it targets 95 branch closures in the U.K.
— Ruxandra Iordache
Opening calls
London’s FTSE 100 is expected to be little changed at the open, according to IG, while the French CAC 40 is expected to shed 0.2% and the German DAX is slated to open around 0.5% lower.
A downward move in the DAX — home to Germany’s biggest companies — would end three consecutive days of gains for the index, which has added 17.4% since the beginning of the year.
— Chloe Taylor
