That's it from me. Head over to our US site for more market moving news.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said:

Cryptocurrencies rallied on Monday, after Trump said that a number of the digital tokens would be included in a new US strategic reserve.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged nearly 7% on Monday morning to $91,683.76, while ether (ETH-USD), XRP (XRP-USD), solana (SOL-USD) and cardano (ADA-USD) also rose, after Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that they would be included in the stockpile.

Shares in cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase were up around 4.3% in early trade.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Most other global governments have been wary of crypto but the new US administration has a different perspective."

"The decision to create a reserve rather than a stockpile – while seemingly a subtle distinction – implies the government could actively buy cryptocurrencies at regular intervals rather than simply holding on to existing crypto holdings."

Data released over the weekend showed continued waning demand for Tesla (TSLA) cars in Europe, amid a backlash against CEO Elon Musk.

According to data from French industry association Plateforme Automobile, released on Saturday, Tesla registered 2,395 cars in France in February, which was down 26% from the same month last year. France is the European Union's second-biggest electric vehicle (EV) market, after Germany.

This latest set of data comes after figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, released last week, showed that new car registrations for Tesla (TSLA) across Europe slid 45% in January year-on-year to 9,945 units.

The drop comes after Musk, a key adviser to US president Donald Trump, made several high-profile interventions in European politics, including backing the far-right AfD party in the recent federal elections in Germany.

In the US, demonstrators have been gathering outside Tesla showrooms to protest against Musk's advocacy for making spending cuts to government agencies, in his role leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Shares in Tesla are down 27% year-to-date, which has taken the company's market capitalisation below the $1tn mark to $942.6bn (£745.9bn).

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Hugh Lind, economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said:

Mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK rose in January, suggesting a strong start to the year for the housing market, as successive interest rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE) eased mortgage costs.

A total of 66,189 mortgages were approved for house purchases in January, marking an 18% increase compared with the same month in 2024, according to data from the BoE. The figure was only slightly lower than the 66,505 approvals recorded in December.

Meanwhile, net mortgage lending increased by £900m to £4.2bn in January, with the annual growth rate for net lending rising to 1.8% from 1.5% in December – extending an upward trend that has been in place since April 2024.

The BoE reduced its interest rate to 4.5% in February, its lowest level in 20 months, offering some relief to mortgage holders across the UK.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Pedro Goncalves writes:

Gold prices edged up on Monday, helped by a weaker dollar, while concerns over the US tariff policy fuelled safe-haven demand for the metal.

The spot price of gold rose by 0.3% to $2,868.01 per ounce, while gold futures climbed 1% to $2,879.00.

US president Donald Trump announced 10% additional tariffs on China and reaffirmed his tariff timings for 25% levies on Mexico and Canada last week.

However, on Sunday, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said that Trump will determine the exact tariff levels on Tuesday.

The recent meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump ended in uncertainty, unsettling financial markets.

"Today's early Asian bullish tone in gold is likely driven by geopolitical risks due to the delay in the anticipated Ukraine-Russia peace deal," said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA.

Eurozone inflation has dipped from 2.5% last month to 2.4% according to the latest figures, slightly hotter than economists expectations of 2.3%.

The data comes ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later this week where rate-setters will mull the benchmark bank rate.

The latest from S&P Global:

The UK manufacturing sector continued to face tough operating conditions in February, as ongoing concerns about weak demand and rising cost pressures led to deeper downturns in output, new orders and employment.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to a 14-month low of 46.9 in February, down from 48.3 in January but above the earlier flash estimate of 46.4.

The PMI has remained at a sub-50.0 level, signalling contraction, for five months in a row.

Oil major Shell (SHEL.L) is exploring the disposal of its European and US chemicals businesses, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend.

The report, which cited sources, said the company hired Morgan Stanley to review its chemicals operations, with potential buyers including Middle Eastern entities looking to up their presence abroad and private equity firms.

Shell's stock was up more than 1.2% in early trade following the report.

President Donald Trump put some pep into the depressed crypto markets over the weekend with a post suggesting a crypto reserve would look to include "XRP, SOL and ADA" tokens.

At the time the post sowed some confusion as it didn't mention the two largest cryptocurrencies, ethereum and bitcoin. He later said they would also be part of the reserve.

Bitcoin prices are up 9.25% over the past five days, hovering above the $92,000 mark.

Ripple's (XRP) price was up 18% for the day, while solana (SOL) rose 13% and cardano (ADA) jumped more than 51%.

Our US team writes:

US stock futures pushed higher early on Monday amid uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on major US trading partners this week, which brings a crucial jobs report and key retail earnings.

S&P 500 futures (ES=F) climbed 0.2%. while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) saw an 0.3% gain. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were broadly flat. The major US indexes are coming off a volatile week and a losing month in February.

March trading is kicking off with investors facing with more questions than answers as tariff deadlines loom, the Federal Reserve's next meeting fast approaches, and the US economy faces the test of disproving investors' fears about growth.

Tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect on Tuesday, with no indication that a planned March 4 implementation date will be pushed back again. While 25% duties are planned, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that they could be lower by describing it as a "fluid situation." New tariffs on China are also due to come in on Tuesday.

Hello from London. It's the first trading day of a new month and there's been plenty in geopolitics to chew over already.

This morning the Bank of England is set to release mortgage approval data, giving a temperature check on the housing market.

Also today:

• Purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for manufacturing from Asia, the EU, UK and USA

• The latest on EU inflation.

Let's get to it.