European equities fall as fragile Mideast ceasefire dents risk sentiment

Published Tue, May 12, 2026 · 03:45 PM
    • The Stoxx 600 shed 1.1 per cent to 605.79 points, as of 0703 GMT, on Tuesday.
    • The Stoxx 600 shed 1.1 per cent to 605.79 points, as of 0703 GMT, on Tuesday. PHOTO: REUTERS

    EUROPEAN shares tumbled on Tuesday, as fading hopes of a US-Iran peace deal pushed oil prices higher and kept investors on edge.

    US President Donald Trump called the ceasefire with Iran “on life support” with Teheran rejecting a US proposal to end the conflict and proposing a list of demands that Trump dismissed as “garbage.”

    The pan-European Stoxx 600 shed 1.1 per cent to 605.79 points, as of 0703 GMT. Regional bourses also moved lower, with London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX down more than 1 per cent.

    A closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz has weighed on energy-dependent European markets, keeping them below pre-war levels, as worries remain over the economic impact of the crisis.

    Germany’s April inflation accelerated slightly to 2.9 per cent in April, official data showed on Tuesday. US inflation data later in the day will also be closely gauged to see the impact of the Iran war.

    Among early movers, Germany’s Thyssenkrupp fell 2.4 per cent after the conglomerate cut its 2026 sales outlook.

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    Shares of Bayer gained 1.5 per cent after the German firm reported a better-than-expected quarterly operating profit. REUTERS

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