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Europe Markets Close Lower After U.S. Debt Ceiling Deal; SBB Up 4% After It Says Sale Possible

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This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European stock markets were mixed Monday after U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 shed early gains to close down 0.2%, while the Stoxx 600 closed 0.1% lower.

Sectors ended the reduced trading day mostly close to the flatline, with oil and gas stocks among those closing marginally higher, up 0.2%, as tech fell 0.7%.

Swedish property group SBB climbed 4.5% after announcing it was exploring strategic options including a sale of the company or of specific assets and segments. Shares of the company have sunk 80% over the last year as it struggles with the higher interest rate environment.

U.K. markets are closed on Monday for a bank holiday. U.S. markets are closed for Memorial Day.

European stocks are coming off the back of a choppy week in which the Stoxx 600 index fell to an eight-week low before clawing back some losses Friday as tech stocks rallied on Nvidia's blockbuster results.

U.S. political leaders must now gather enough bipartisan support to pass the debt ceiling bill in Congress before the June 5 deadline to avoid a federal default.

With negotiators hurriedly drafting the wording, the U.S. House of Representatives could vote as soon as Wednesday, followed by the Senate later in the week, AP reported.

While the debt ceiling deal is likely to calm market jitters, and with a strong earnings season out of the way, investors now turn their attention to the economic outlook and path of interest rates.

While the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England had been widely expected to pause rate hikes and look at when to pivot, recent data has complicated the picture for all three.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed even as Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed to trade at the highest levels since July 1990.

Elsewhere, the Turkish lira slumped to a record low after incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured reelection.

Stocks on the move: SBB up 4.5%, Embracer Group down 7.3%

Swedish property group SBB climbed to the top of the Stoxx 600 in afternoon deals, up 4.5%, after announcing it was exploring strategic options including a sale of the company or of specific assets and segments. Shares of the company have sunk 80% over the last year as it struggles with the higher interest rate environment.

Meantime, Swedish video game maker and media company Embracer Group slumped to the bottom of the European benchmark, down 7.3%, amid uncertainty about the status of its latest game release.

— Karen Gilchrist

Debt ceiling deal unlikely to spark major relief rally, investment chief says

Antonio Cavarero, head of investments at Generali Insurance Asset Management, discussed the market outlook in light of strong U.S. economic data and continued pressure on rates.

Earnings expectations have to be revised upward as global economy bottoms, asset manager says

John Ricciardi, head of global asset allocation at Deuterium Capital Management, says that's "quite supportive for risk assets, which are trading … at very steep discounts to standard valuations."

Data complicates central bank rate decisions

The market has long been pricing in interest rate cuts from major central banks toward the end of 2023, but sticky core inflation, tight labor markets and a surprisingly resilient global economy are leading some economists to reassess.

Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs figures and gross domestic product data have highlighted a key risk to the Federal Reserve potentially taking its foot off the monetary brake. Economic resilience and persistent labor market tightness could exert upward pressure on wages and inflation, which is in danger of becoming entrenched.

Read the full story here.

— Elliot Smith

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open higher Monday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 12.1 points higher at 7,641, Germany's DAX up 34 points at 16,015, France's CAC up 6.2 points at 7,331 and Italy's FTSE MIB 80 points higher at 26,838, according to data from IG.

— Jenni Reid

U.S. dollar index to strengthen with economic data in focus this week, SMBC says

The dollar index could further strengthen to 105 in the short term with the U.S. jobs report to be released later this week as well as a looming vote on the debt ceiling deal, SMBC said in a Monday note.

"Asian currencies are expected to weaken, but the decline may be limited as more market participants are also looking for chances for Asian currencies to appreciate in preparation for risk-on sentiment after the Fed pauses rate hikes," Ryota Abe, Asia Pacific economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) wrote.

 The dollar index slid marginally to 104.164 in Asia's morning session. The Japanese yen slightly strengthened to 140.52 against the U.S. dollar, while the offshore Chinese yuan weakened to 7.0791 against the greenback.

"U.S. economic data released last week support hawkish stances on rate hikes," Abe wrote in the note. "Combined with CPI released earlier this month, the data show stronger than expected inflationary pressures, reigniting concerns over inflation in the US," he wrote.

— Jihye Lee

Turkish lira tumbles near weakest-ever levels after Erdogan retains office

The Turkish lira weakened against the U.S. dollar as incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan clinched victory in the 2023 presidential election, extending his rule into a third decade in power.

The currency was trading at 19.97 against the greenback as of Monday 4 a.m. London time.

"We have a pretty pessimistic outlook on the Turkish Lira as a result of Erdogan retaining office after the election," Wells Fargo's Emerging Markets Economist and FX Strategist Brendan McKenna told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia."

"It's a very bleak economic and markets outlook for Turkey," McKenna added, forecasting that the lira will reach a new record low of 23 against the dollar by end of the second quarter.

—Lee Ying Shan

CNBC Pro: How much of A.I. is just hype? A bull and a bear share their tips on how to invest

Artificial intelligence has taken the investing world by storm since early this year — thanks largely to the emergence of ChatGPT, which triggered a wave of buying into AI-related stocks. 

Is it here to stay or just hype?

A bull and a bear faced off on CNBC's "Street Signs Asia," telling investors how they can navigate the dilemma, as well as what stocks to play the trend.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

CNBC Pro: TSMC or Samsung? One chipmaker is the better play on A.I., geopolitics and earnings, analyst says

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics have emerged as two key players in the increasingly competitive landscape of the chip-making sector.

TSMC's earnings are concentrated in the semiconductor manufacturing sector, but does Samsung's diversified electronics business model make it more resilient?

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about an analyst's take on two chipmakers here.

— Ganesh Rao

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