The main European stock exchanges open lower at the start of Tuesday’s session, with corporate results and the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged failing to offset geopolitical uncertainty.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index is down 0.33% at 8,114.91 points by 07:08 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax decreases by 0.25% and in London, the FTSE 100 falls by 0.14%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index drops 0.13%, while the FTSEurofirst 300 and Stoxx 600 both decline by 0.31%.
As the first-quarter earnings season is in full swing, investors are also watching the developments in the Middle East conflict, which began exactly two months ago.
While the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, negotiations to end the conflict appear to be at a standstill, with US President Donald Trump expressing dissatisfaction with Iran’s latest proposal to resolve the conflict.
The Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain its interest rates indicates the possibility of similar decisions from other central banks this week, although three of the nine members of the BoJ’s monetary policy committee have proposed raising rates.
In Paris, Air Liquide is down 3.5% after the industrial gas specialist reported lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue and revised its outlook on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Europe, Barclays is down 3% after the British bank released its first-quarter results.
BP is up 2.5% after reporting a replacement cost profit higher than expected.
(Reporting by Coralie Lamarque, Editing by Augustin Turpin)
