European Stocks Close Sharply Lower

2026-03-05 17:05 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

European stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday, tracking the pullback in North American equities and extending their volatile momentum as the war in the Middle East further threatened the European economy.

The Eurozone's STOXX 50 dropped 1.7% to 5,771 and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.4% to 604.

Strikes between Iran and Israel showed no sign of de-escalation, while the former continued to attack energy, transportation, and civilian infrastructure across GCC states to extend the surge in energy costs.

The surge in natural gas prices particularly impacted European benchmarks, lifting bond yields and triggering a fresh plunge in banking stocks with Santander, UniCredit, and Deutsche Bank losing close to 3%.

The outlook of higher power prices also pressured industrial giants with Siemens and Safran losing more than 3%, while DHL sank 4.6% on container ships bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz.



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European Stocks Close Sharply Lower
European stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday, tracking the pullback in North American equities and extending their volatile momentum as the war in the Middle East further threatened the European economy. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 dropped 1.7% to 5,771 and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.4% to 604. Strikes between Iran and Israel showed no sign of de-escalation, while the former continued to attack energy, transportation, and civilian infrastructure across GCC states to extend the surge in energy costs. The surge in natural gas prices particularly impacted European benchmarks, lifting bond yields and triggering a fresh plunge in banking stocks with Santander, UniCredit, and Deutsche Bank losing close to 3%. The outlook of higher power prices also pressured industrial giants with Siemens and Safran losing more than 3%, while DHL sank 4.6% on container ships bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz.
2026-03-05
European Stocks Turn Positive
European stocks moved into positive territory on Thursday after a lacklustre open, with both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 rising 0.3%, extending gains of more than 1% in the previous session. Investors continued to monitor developments in the conflict with Iran while assessing potential signs of renewed negotiations. According to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran told the US in previous talks it was willing to eliminate its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in exchange for “something good in return,” Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said. Utilities and technology stocks led the gains. Among megacaps, ASML Holding (+0.3%), HSBC (+1%), AstraZeneca (+0.7%), Novo Nordisk (+1.4%), Shell (+1%), and L’Oréal (+0.5%) traded higher.
2026-03-05
European Stocks Fall Again
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%).
2026-03-05