European Stocks Close Firmly Lower

2026-03-12 17:01 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

European stocks closed firmly lower for a second session on Thursday, tracking another aggressive decline in government bonds as another surge in energy prices magnified worries of stagflation and declining margins.

The Eurozone's STOXX 50 dropped 0.9% to 5,744 and the pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.7% to 599.

The new Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared the country was close the Strait of Hormuz and struck a defiant tone, matching the US rhetoric to increase the risk that key energy supplies from the region will remain halted for a longer period.

Government bond yields surged amid expectations of higher interest rates by the European Central Bank, denting banking shares that face dwindling net interest income.

UniCredit and BNP Paribas dropped close to 4%, and Deutsche Bank sank 5.3% amid its warning that it has $30 billion in private credit exposure, which has undergone increased attempts at fund redemptions.

Safran and Airbus dropped more than 2%.



News Stream
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