European stocks trade sideways as markets await Trump’s Iran deadline: DAX, CAC, FTSE100

European equity markets were broadly flat on Tuesday as investors monitored developments in the Middle East ahead of a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to reach an agreement.

Trump expanded his warning toward Tehran, saying the United States could target infrastructure such as power plants and bridges if Iran fails to secure a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.

The euro edged slightly higher against the U.S. dollar after revised data showed marginally stronger private-sector activity in the eurozone during March.

Final figures from S&P Global indicated that the eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index was revised upward to 50.7 from a preliminary estimate of 50.5 published two weeks earlier.

In the United Kingdom, the PMI composite output index came in at 50.3 in March, down from 53.7 recorded in February.

Across major European markets, France’s CAC 40 was up around 0.4%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was little changed and Germany’s DAX slipped about 0.1%.

Banking stocks posted gains, with Commerzbank (TG:CBK), Deutsche Bank (TG:DBK), BNP Paribas (EU:BNP), Credit Agricole (EU:ACA) and Societe Generale (EU:GLE) rising between 1% and 2%.

Dutch lender ING (EU:INGA) advanced about 1.2% after ending an agreement related to its Russian operations.

Shares of Universal Music Group (EU:UMG) surged roughly 13% after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital unveiled an offer to acquire the world’s largest music company in a transaction valued at approximately €55.75 billion ($64.31 billion).

Sanofi (EU:SAN) gained about 1% after the French pharmaceutical group said that lunsekimig achieved both the primary and key secondary endpoints in two Phase II clinical trials evaluating the investigational bispecific pentavalent nanobody.

Hunting Plc (LSE:HTG), a precision engineering company, rose 1.3% after securing nearly $68 million in orders tied to a new offshore development project in Guyana.

Meanwhile, ASML Holding (EU:ASML) fell 2.8% after U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation aimed at restricting the sale of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.