European Stocks Pare Some Losses, Close On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - After a weak start and a subsequent long spell fairly deep down in negative territory, European stocks staged a good recovery around late afternoon on Thursday. A few markets even managed to move above the flat line by the time the market ended.

The early weakness was due to renewed concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump's primetime address Wednesday night. Trump reiterated his claim that the war will be over "very shortly" but also said the U.S. is going to hit Iran "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," bringing the country "back to the stone ages where they belong."

The sharp rise in oil prices raised concerns about inflation, economic slowdown and monetary tightening by central banks.

Stocks began climbing off the day's lows on report that Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to "monitor transit" through the Strait of Hormuz.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy minister of legal and international affairs, said the requirements are meant to "facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships that pass through this route," according to a translation of IRNA's report.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.18%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.56% and 0.24%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.69%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.07% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Norway and Sweden closed weak.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Türkiye ended higher, while Belgium, Netherlands and Spain closed flat.

In the UK market, energy stocks Shell and BP moved up 2.9% and 2.7%, respectively.

3i Group gained nearly 4%. Centrica ended 3.1% up. Tesco, Rentokil Initial, Pearson, National Grid, British American Tobacco, BT Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, United Utilities, Whitbread, Admiral and GSK gained 1.7%-3%.

AstraZeneca climbed nearly 2% after announcing that its liver cancer treatment showed promise in a phase III trial.

Endeavour Mining, St. James's Place, Kingfisher, Howden Joinery Group, Experian, Fresnillo, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Weir Group, Metlen Energy & Metals, Natwest Group, Standard Chartered and HSBC Holdings lost 1%-2.5%.

In the German market, Deutsche Telekom ended down by about 3.3%. Infineon, Heidelberg Materials, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Henkel, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens Energy, Adidas, Rheinmetall, Volkswagen, Brenntag, Zalando, Bayer, Siemens Healthineers and Deutsch Post lost 1%-3%.

E.ON, Scout24, Deutsche Boerse, Hannover Rueck and Qiagen ended notably higher.

In the French market, STMicroelectronics, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Saint Gobain, Legrand, ArcelorMittal, Airbus, Schneider Electric, EssilorLuxottica, Bouygues, Credit Agricole and Safran lost 1%-3%.

Stellantis climbed nearly 4%. Eurofins Scientific, TotalEnergies and Engie gained 2.8%, 2.4% and 2%, respectively.

Publicis Groupe, Carrefour, Accor, Orange, Capgemini and Veolia Environment also ended notably higher.

In economic news, France's state budget deficit narrowed to EUR 32.1 billion in January-February 2026 from EUR 40.3 billion in the same period last year, amid higher revenues and lower spending.