Oil prices were heading for weekly gains as of Friday, despite the United States issuing a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products at sea.
Bloomberg Creative Photos | Bloomberg Creative Photos | fake images
LONDON – European stocks regained ground Monday morning as investors continued to weigh ongoing unrest in the Middle East and elevated global oil prices.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.4% shortly after 1:00 p.m. in London (9:00 a.m. ET), with most major stock markets and sectors in the green.
the united kingdom FTSE 100 increased by 0.6%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.5%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2%. Italy MIB FTSE was last seen trading flat.
commercial bank Shares rose 7.2% on news that UniCredit has launched a bid to increase its stake in the German bank above 30%, a key regulatory hurdle that could pave the way for a full takeover bid.
The Italian lender’s offer is expected to come at a premium of about 4% over Commerzbank shares. UniCredit shares last fell 0.27%.
The US and Israeli military operation against Iran remains the key focus of global markets. US crude oil prices rose on Sunday afternoon, again surpassing $100 a barrel before falling to $95 at the market open on Monday, as the White House weighed military strikes on Iran’s main oil export facilities on Kharg Island.
President Donald Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday that his planned trip to China later this month could be delayed as Washington seeks to pressure Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Asia-Pacific markets fell overnight, while U.S. stock futures rose slightly as Wall Street tried to recover from another week of losses.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 366 points, or 0.8%. S&P 500 futures rose 1% and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 1.1%.
Central banks are in the spotlight this week, as the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England hold monetary policy meetings. However, the Middle East conflict has put a damper on any expectation of interest rate movement.
No results or data will be published in Europe on Monday.
