April 23 (Reuters) – European shares edged lower on Thursday as escalating shipping concerns in the strategic Strait of Hormuz dampened investor sentiment, while market participants assessed a wave of corporate earnings reports.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined 0.2% to 612.98 points as of 0718 GMT, reflecting broader market caution.
Most of the major regional markets mirrored this downward trend, with Germany’s DAX and London’s FTSE 100 dropping 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump made what appeared to be a unilateral announcement on Tuesday that the U.S. would extend a ceasefire until it had discussed an Iranian proposal in peace talks to end the two-month-old war.
Though there was hardly any reprieve for investors as Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, leaving markets nervous about whether the fragile ceasefire would hold.
Stocks fell while oil prices jumped, with Brent crude futures up more than 1% to over $ 100 a barrel.
Energy stocks gained 0.6% on the back of the strong gains in crude prices.
Most of the other major sectors traded in the red.
The telecommunications sector emerged as the most resilient, gaining 1.2%, while banking stocks languished at the bottom of the market, declining 1.1%.
Investors were also navigating the peak of Europe’s corporate earnings season, scrutinizing reports for insights into how the Iran conflict is affecting businesses and future outlooks across various industries.
Nestle shares jumped 6% after the world’s biggest packaged food company maintained its full-year organic growth outlook of 3%-4%.
Shares in L’Oreal rose 8% after the French cosmetics group posted first-quarter sales growth of 6.7%, its fastest quarterly growth in two years.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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