European stock markets rebounded during this second trading session of the week, driven by hope of a resumption of negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The CAC 40 rose by 1.12% to 8,327 points while the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 1.31% to 5,982 points.
Across the Atlantic, the major American indices are in the green: the Dow Jones is up 0.66% and the Nasdaq is advancing by 1.39%, heading towards a tenth consecutive session of gains, a series unseen since 2021. Discussions between the United States and Iran could resume as early as this week, reviving hope for a geopolitical easing. In this context, oil prices fell below $100, with Brent declining by 1.89% to $96.04 USD at the close of European markets.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the war in the Middle East has caused “the most severe oil supply shock in history.” The agency also anticipates the largest demand contraction since the Covid-19 pandemic in the second quarter of the year, with a decrease of 80,000 barrels per day. In its latest forecasts, the International Monetary Fund does not rule out the risk of a global recession in the event of prolonged conflict, while emphasizing that this scenario is not currently its central assumption.
“The fact that a ceasefire has been reached reduces the probability of our most pessimistic scenario, without guaranteeing a swift return to normal in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz,” highlights Invesco. Tuesday’s session was also marked by quarterly results.
LVMH finished close to flat (-0.06%) after briefly being the worst-performing stock during the session, as the luxury giant reported quarterly sales below expectations. The flagship index of the Paris stock exchange was boosted by Eurofins (+5.52%) following the announcement of a divestment agreement of its electrical and electronic testing business to UL Solutions, for a 575 million euros enterprise value.
Meanwhile, Publicis (+1.81%) had a strong session after releasing results generally in line with expectations. On the foreign exchange market, the euro advanced by 0.22% to 1.1793 USD.
