European stocks were mixed on Monday as investors awaited further developments in the trade war with Iran as the conflict entered its fifth week.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index settled at 575.13 points, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.2% to 22,248.44 points, France’s CAC index dropped 0.1% to 7,692.35 points, while Britain’s FTSE index rose by about 0.2% to 9,989.33 points.
US President Donald Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that he was capable of taking control of Iranian oil and seizing Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub. Meanwhile, the Houthi movement in Yemen announced on Saturday that it had launched missiles at Israel, marking its first direct involvement in the US- and Israeli-led war against Iran.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree posted on the X platform that the movement launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at what it described as sensitive Israeli military sites in support of Iran and its allies from Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This attack marks a new escalation in the conflict that began with US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets on February 28. Oil prices rose during the early hours of Asian trading, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbing 2.58% to $102.19 a barrel.
Finance and energy ministers and central bank governors of the G7 are scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Monday via videoconference, the fourth ministerial meeting since the outbreak of war in Iran.
Economic data scheduled for today includes the EU consumer confidence index and the latest inflation reading for Germany.
