Fabio Bassi, JP Morgan head of cross-asset strategy, said that as long as AI remains the market’s dominant theme, European equities are likely to continue lagging other major markets. He flagged structural headwinds — higher policy rates, elevated energy costs and low productivity — but noted a medium-term support case from Europe’s large export sector if global growth stays resilient.

A European Commission report on bank competitiveness said fragmentation and limited scale are constraining potential and that national intervention in mergers has impeded banks' ability to expand. The Commission plans measures in Q1 2027 to tackle competitiveness, including allowing cross-border banks to allocate liquidity and capital more effectively between parent firms and subsidiaries.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has instructed local radio regulatory bodies to immediately investigate and crack down on suspected unlawful online sales of signal jammers. Authorities will coordinate with local public security and market supervision departments to conduct inspections, rapidly address suspected violations, and have ordered e-commerce platforms to remove listings and merchant accounts selling such devices.