European equity markets staged a strong recovery on Monday after opening the session with steep losses.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged up 0.1%, while France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.3% and Germany’s DAX advanced 1.7%.
The rebound followed comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who stepped back from earlier threats to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the country failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had engaged in “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”
He added that he had instructed the War Department to delay any planned military strikes against Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
Earlier, the president had warned that the U.S. would “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, and he had also suggested he was not interested in negotiating with Iran.
Iran responded by warning it would target energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if Washington carried out the threatened strikes.
Oil prices fell sharply following Trump’s latest comments. However, Iran’s official Fars news agency later reported that Tehran was not involved in any direct talks with the United States, either directly or through intermediaries.
Among individual companies, shares of Metall Zug Group (LSE:0QLX) dropped sharply after the Swiss medical device manufacturer suspended its dividend following a loss in fiscal 2025 caused by one-off charges and weaker net sales.
Steelmaker Salzgitter (TG:SZG) also moved significantly lower after reporting a pre-tax loss of €28 million for 2025.
French food company Danone (EU:BN) declined after announcing an agreement to acquire U.K.-based fortified drinks producer Huel.
Meanwhile, Delivery Hero (TG:DHER) surged after the German online food delivery group agreed to sell its Taiwan delivery business to Grab Holdings for $600 million, with the proceeds earmarked for debt reduction.
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