Galaxy Globe bulk carrier and Luojiashan tanker sit anchored in Muscat, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 9, 2026.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
LONDON — European stocks look set to open notably higher on Tuesday, as traders watch developments in the Middle East and reduced but still elevated oil prices.
Futures tied to the pan-European Stoxx 50 were last seen up 1.3%, while those tied to the French CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX index were 1.5% and 1.2% higher respectively. FTSE 100 futures were 0.5% higher at 6:23 a.m. in London (2:23 a.m. ET), while futures tied to Italy’s FTSE MIB jumped 1.8%.
A rebound in Europe would snap a three-day losing streak for the regional Stoxx 600 index, which shed almost 6% last week as global sentiment was shaken by the U.S.-Iran war.
It was a mixed picture from global markets overnight, with Asia-Pacific markets rebounding while U.S. stock futures fell.
Those moves came after oil prices pared gains after U.S. President Donald Trump told a CBS News reporter that “the war is very complete, pretty much,” but also signalled a readiness to act to keep the vital oil passage, the Strait of Hormuz, open.
Trump said he was considering seizing control of the strait, saying Iran would be hit harder if it did anything to stop oil flows through the strategic sea passage.
Oil prices plunged as much as 10% overnight after Trump’s comments, but remain elevated: Brent crude was down around 6.8% at $92.25 per barrel as of 6:26 a.m. London time on Tuesday. U.S. crude oil was also down 6.8% at $88.31 per barrel. The declines come after oil surged past $100 on Monday.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNBC on Monday that oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz “must be very careful.”
In corporate news, German autos giant Volkswagen reported a 53% year-on-year drop in operating profit when it published its full-year earnings update on Tuesday morning.
The company attributed the decline to Trump’s tariff regime, as well as currency fluctuations and costs associated with adjusting its Porsche product strategy.
That meant its operating profit of 8.9 billion euros ($10.4 billion) came in well below analyst expectations, according to LSEG consensus data.
Elsewhere, Swiss chocolatier Lindt reported full-year sales of 5.9 billion euros on Tuesday, representing organic sales growth of 12.4% from the previous year. Operating profit was reported at a stronger-than-expected 971 million euros, with Lindt touting its progress despite “a challenging market environment” that included volatile cocoa prices, geopolitical tensions and the Trump administration’s tariffs.