Hannelore Foerster | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday as investors digest the latest reports on the Iran war and monitor a raft of corporate earnings and central bank decisions.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was trading 0.4% lower by 8:40 a.m. in London (3:40 a.m. E.T.).
Regional bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and Milan were all in negative territory, though the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.1%.
Most regional sectors were in the red, with autos leading losses, down 1.6%. Banks dopped 1.1% and financial services retreated to the tune of 1.2%. Oil and gas were the main exception, with stocks rising 0.4% on the back of Thursday’s oil price surge, while telecoms, basic resources, healthcare and tech were marginally positive.
Brent crude hit a wartime high, past $126 a barrel, following a report that the U.S. military would brief President Donald Trump on potential action against Iran, raising fears that armed conflict could resume, and that the blockade of Iranian ports would continue.
Axios reported that the U.S. Central Command was set to present Trump plans for possible military action against Iran, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.
June futures for international benchmark Brent crude were up 3.4%, reaching $122.07 a barrel early Thursday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.2% to $108.15.
In a busy day for corporate earnings, shares in Stellantis plunged almost 8% despite the multinational jeep maker reporting adjusted operating income of 960 million euros ($1.12 billion) for the first quarter, beating consensus estimates of 568 million euros. The firm, whose brands include Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, also notched a 6% first quarter increase in net revenues year-on-year.
In contrast, the Magnum Ice Cream Company soared 10.4% in morning dealmaking, with organic sales growth up 4.5% year-on-year, at 1.77 billion.
Volkswagen dipped 1.7% after reporting a 14% dent in profits compared to a year ago. The German auto mainstay generated a 2.5 billion euros ($2.92 billion) profit first-quarter profit, which lagged analyst estimates.
French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 4.2% and 3.7%, respectively, after filing their first quarter earnings. BNP Paribas saw its first-quarter profits rise 9%, to 3.22 billion euros. SocGen’s group net income reached 1.69 billion euros, up 5.5% on the same period a year earlier.
Central bank action will be in focus later with the European Central Bank and Bank of England both poised to deliver their latest monetary policy decisions on Thursday.
Neither bank is expected to change interest rates but their forward guidance will be closely watched, given the ongoing war in Iran.
Data releases from Europe are also in focus, with the preliminary readings of euro zone GDP for the first quarter and April inflation set to be published at 10 a.m. London time.
It’s another busy day for earnings with Schneider Electric, Unilever, Glencore, ING, DHL Group, Credit Agricole, Standard Chartered, BASF, Ferrovial, Erste Group Bank, ArcelorMittal, Danske Bank, and Air France-KLM, among others, all reporting earnings.
— CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan contributed to this market report.