European Shares Poised For Mixed Opening As Oil Prices Resume Climb

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening mixed on Thursday amid elevated geopolitical risks and U.S. tariff uncertainty.

According to a report by the New York Times, Iran has reached out to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to explore a backchannel ceasefire.

However, a source from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry reportedly dismissed the report as "a complete lie" and stated that Tehran is prepared to sustain the conflict.

The Middle East remains tense, with Israel launching pre-dawn strikes on Lebanon, Iran launching several rounds of missiles at Israel, the U.S. military sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean with a torpedo, and the U.S. Senate rejecting a resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's authority to continue military strikes on Iran.

As the conflict entered its sixth day, pro-American Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq are reportedly preparing for a potential incursion into Iran.

On the tariff front, a federal judge in New York ruled that companies are entitled to refunds for tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court last month.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that the global import tariff rate could soon increase from the current 10 percent to 15 percent.

"It's my strong belief that the tariff rates will be back to their old rate within five months," Bessent said during a CNBC interview.

In economic releases, reports on U.S. import prices and initial jobless claims will be in the spotlight today before an unemployment reading on Friday.

Closer home, Eurozone retail sales and French industrial output data may garner investor attention later in the day.

Asian markets traded higher following days of declines. South Korea's Kospi rebounded more than 10 percent, Japan's Nikkei index surged nearly 3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1 percent while gains were modest elsewhere across the region.

The dollar fell the most in about three weeks, helping gold prices climb toward $5,200 an ounce.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday that it is still appropriate to continue cutting interest rates despite the inflation and other risks stemming from the U.S. military conflict with Iran.

Brent crude futures jumped 2 percent in Asian trade after ending little changed in the New York trading session overnight.

WTI crude futures soared almost 4 percent after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka.

U.S. stocks ended higher overnight as oil prices stabilized after a recent run-up on news that the U.S. will discuss offering ships insurance and military escorts to help ease the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying the war could last up to eight weeks, but might be over sooner.

"Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we're going to keep them off balance."

Investors also cheered upbeat economic data, with private employers adding more jobs than anticipated in February and the U.S. services sector activity surging to more than a 3-1/2-year high in the month.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent and the Dow rose half a percent.

European stocks also closed on a firm note Wednesday, recovering fairly well after two successive days of sharp losses amid inflation worries sparked by the U.S.-Iran war.

The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 1.4 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.7 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both rose by 0.8 percent.