European Markets Set for Higher Open

European stocks moved lower on Thursday, with the STOXX 50 falling 0.6% and the STOXX 600 slipping 0.3%, after gains of more than 1% in the previous session. Early relief faded as concerns resurfaced over an escalation in the conflict with Iran, now in its sixth day. Both Iran and the US signaled that attacks could intensify in the coming days, pushing oil and natural gas prices higher. Financials were the worst-performing sector, followed by healthcare. Among major decliners were LVMH (-1.4%), Roche (-0.9%), Novartis (-0.6%), Siemens (-1%), Banco Santander (-1.7%), and UniCredit (-1.6%).

European equity markets were set to open lower on Thursday, surrendering some of the previous session’s gains as geopolitical risks remained elevated, with oil prices and the dollar resuming their climb. The US-Israeli campaign against Iran has now entered its sixth day, keeping investors cautious about further escalation and the possibility of a prolonged conflict. Reports also indicated that Iranian operatives had reached out to the US to explore potential peace talks, though Tehran later denied the outreach. On the trade front, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump’s recently announced 15% global tariff is expected to take effect later this week. In Europe, investors will monitor economic releases including Eurozone retail sales and French industrial production. Corporate earnings are also due from Merck, Deutsche Post, and Snam, among others. In premarket trading, Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.9%, while Stoxx Europe 600 futures declined 0.5%.

European stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday, trimming the plunges from the previous session and tracking the afternoon support from North American equity markets to reflect a softer degree of pessimism from recent surges in European energy prices. The Eurozone STOXX 50 added 1.7% to 5,872 and the European STOXX 600 added 1.4% to 612. Banks led the gains after setting the pace for losses yesterday, benefiting from the recovery for European government bonds as a pullback in natural gas prices limited concerns of uncontrolled inflation. Santander, BBVA, and Nordea added more than 3%. Tech also advanced after a sector-wide rebound in Wall Street, with ASML and Infineon advancing 3.5% and 5.4%, respectively. Support for the corporate sector was also contributed to reports that the EU will be exempt from the hikes in global tariffs by the US that was signaled by US Treasury Secretary Bessent during the session.