European equities moved higher at the open on Tuesday, while oil prices slipped below the $100-per-barrel mark, as investors reacted to signs of potential progress in discussions between the United States and Iran.
According to a U.S. official cited by Reuters, negotiations between Washington and Tehran have shown signs of advancement. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said that Iranian representatives had reached out to the White House.
Despite this, market sentiment remained cautious after the United States introduced a new blockade targeting Iranian ports, adding uncertainty to the broader outlook.
As of 07:11 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX rose 1.0%. France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.3%.
European markets followed a positive lead from Asia, where MSCI’s broad index of shares outside Japan and Japan’s Nikkei 225 both posted gains.
In commodities, oil prices declined, with Brent crude—the global benchmark—falling 1.5% to $97.88 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped more sharply, down 3.4% to $95.78 per barrel.
Even so, both benchmarks remain above levels seen before the conflict, and the International Energy Agency has cautioned that prices have yet to fully reflect the scale of supply disruptions caused by the Iran conflict.
Among individual stocks, LVMH (EU:MC) said tensions in the Middle East have reduced group sales by at least 1%, raising concerns about the pace of recovery in the luxury sector. Results from rival Kering (EU:KER) are expected after the close of trading later in the day.
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