European stock markets edged mostly lower on Thursday, as investors noted ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s indefinite extension to a ceasefire in the Iran war.
Track European stocks with InvestingPro - now 55% off By 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 had dropped by 0.4%, the Dax in Germany had fallen by 0.5%, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. had shed 0.6%.
The outlier was the CAC 40 in France, which gained 0.3%. Supporting sentiment around the index was cosmetics giant L’Oreal, which posted its fastest quarterly growth in two years even as concerns floated around the impact of the Iran conflict on consumer spending. Shares of the company spiked by more than 8%.
Traders were also hunting for any signs that fresh peace talks could emerge between the U.S. and Iran, with Trump having told U.S. media that renewed negotiations are "possible" as soon as Friday.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the president said a ceasefire deal with Iran had been extended just hours before it was reportedly due to expire at the request of Pakistan, which has served as a mediator between Washington and Tehran. Trump said the truce would be in effect "until such time as" Iranian officials present a "unified proposal" for peace.
However, the fate of any future discussions was mired in uncertainty, particularly after Iran attacked three ships -- and seized two of them -- near the Strait of Hormuz only hours after Trump’s announcement, in response to an ongoing American blockade of Iranian ports and coast.
The prospect of further supply disruptions through the strait, a crucial shipping conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil, pushed crude prices back above $100 a barrel. Although oil prices have eased back from an initial spike after the start of the war in late February, they are still well above pre-conflict levels.
Business activity data for the Eurozone currency area later today could shed some light on how companies are adapting to headwinds posed by the energy shock.
Earnings deluge Yet some analysts have suggested that investors may be paying less attention to the near-constant stream of developments out of the Middle East, and are instead refocusing on corporate results and a boom in expenditures on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Hygiene products maker Essity’s shares climbed on quarterly core income that topped estimates, as increased volumes helped to mitigate lower product prices. The group’s CEO told Reuters that the firm is preparing to bump up prices to compensate for a rise in energy costs.
But supermarket chain Sainsbury’s warned that the war will weigh on customer shopping habits, clouding the British company’s outlook. Shares slumped by more than 5%.
Meanwhile, aerospace name Safran’s shares ticked higher, fueled by better-than-anticipated first-quarter revenue and a reiterated 2026 outlook.
Drugmaker Sanofi’s profit and revenue in the first quarter also beat forecasts thanks to its popular asthma and eczema drug Dupixent, sending the stock up by over 2%.
