(RTTNews) – European stocks fell on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump gave no clear end date for the Middle East conflict in his rare prime-time speech and vowed more strikes on Iran, raising the risk of more extensive damage to energy infrastructure throughout the Gulf.
Inflation and growth fears returned to the fore as oil prices jumped more than 7 percent on supply disruption fears.
Iran rejected Trump’s claim that it had sought a ceasefire, asserting that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed and that the vital transit route is firmly under IRGC Navy control.
The Financial Times reported that an international conference of 35 countries led by the U.K. will meet today in an effort to exert political and diplomatic pressure to reopen the strait.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.9 percent to 592.33 after rallying 2.5 percent on Wednesday.
The German DAX fell 1.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was little changed with a positive bias.
Banks traded sharply lower, with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas falling 2-3 percent.
Skanska plunged more than 6 percent. The Swedish construction giant has agreed to sell its entire 50 percent stake in its I-4 Mobility Partners HoldCo joint venture to its partner, John Laing I-4 Holdco.
AstraZeneca edged up slightly after announcing that its liver cancer treatment showed promise in a phase III trial.
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