European equities traded lower on Thursday after fresh military strikes involving the United States and Iran fueled concerns over rising energy costs and renewed inflationary pressure across global markets.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 1%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX Index each fell around 0.6%.
Investor sentiment weakened after the U.S. carried out additional self-defense strikes in southern Iran, while Tehran reportedly launched attacks targeting a U.S. air base. The escalation pushed Brent crude prices nearly 3% higher to around $97 per barrel.
Airline stocks came under pressure as higher oil prices raised concerns about increasing fuel costs and weaker profitability for the sector.
Among individual movers, shares of Johnson Matthey (LSE:JMAT) declined after the British specialty chemicals company announced an agreement to acquire U.S.-based emissions catalyst producer CORMETECH in a cash deal valued at $360 million on an enterprise-value basis.
Energy company SSE (LSE:SSE) also traded lower after reporting a 5% decline in adjusted earnings per share for the financial year ended March 31, 2026.
BT (LSE:BT.A) shares dropped following reports that the British government would oppose any effort by Sunil Bharti Mittal to increase his ownership stake in the telecommunications group beyond 25%.
Meanwhile, semiconductor-related stocks outperformed after Soitec (EU:SOI) reported annual sales that exceeded market expectations.
The positive read-through lifted shares of sector peers STMicroelectronics (BIT:STMMI) and Infineon (TG:IFX), both of which posted gains during the session.
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