• Macro: There were mixed fortunes for equity investors to start the week yesterday, as the prospect of increased defence spending drove European markets higher, with the Eurostoxx600, the DAX, and the CAC all ending the session comfortably in the green. In the US, however, both the S&P500 and the Nasdaq were weak as tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China came into effect. Later today, the main release of note is the Eurozone unemployment rate out at 10:00. From central bankers, there will be commentary from the Fed's Musalem.
• Stock: We have updates on PTSB, Volkswagen, and Supermarket Income REIT. (Comment attached)
• Debt: Core bond yields moved higher in Europe yesterday following unfavourable inflation data along with plans for increased defence expenditure.

Opportunities this week:

• We believe it is an opportune time to highlight Grafton as a buying opportunity, with the upcoming general election in the UK a likely positive catalyst for the company. (BUY PT: £11.30)
• We reiterate our BUY rating on Microsoft following the recent announcement of its new range of PCs which will be optimised for artificial intelligence tasks. (BUY PT: $479)
• We reiterate our take profits call on AstraZeneca reflecting a stretched valuation in our view, we are also dropping the stock from our research coverage