A trader works at his desk at CMC Markets
The main European stock exchanges opened in the red at the beginning of Monday’s session, with Washington’s rejection of Tehran’s peace proposal bringing the Middle East conflict to a geopolitical impasse.
In Paris, the CAC 40 loses 0.64% to 8,060.60 points around 07:46 GMT. In Frankfurt, the DAX falls by 0.19% and in London, the FTSE 100 goes up by 0.15%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index loses 0.19%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.02%, and the Stoxx 600 0.04%.
As the stock exchanges ended sharply lower last Friday and the weekend was relatively calm in the Middle East, market attempts to rebound are hindered by recent statements regarding peace negotiations to end the conflict in Iran, leading to a geopolitical deadlock.
US President Donald Trump deemed Iran’s response to the US proposal to end their longstanding conflict as “totally unacceptable” on Sunday evening.
Official Iranian media reported that Iran’s response concerns navigation security in the Strait of Hormuz and demands an end to hostilities on all fronts, especially in Lebanon, where Israel continues its military campaign despite a ceasefire.
Tehran rejected the latest American proposal, as accepting it would be seen as “submitting to Donald Trump’s excessive demands,” according to official Iranian media on Sunday evening.
Market attention is now fully focused on President Donald Trump’s visit to China this week, with investors hoping that Beijing will influence Iran towards a conflict resolution and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
In terms of stocks, TKMS lost nearly 2% after initially opening with gains of 3%, as the German shipbuilder reported a record order book on Monday.
Compass Group raised its profit forecasts for 2026 on Monday, boosting the shares of the world’s largest corporate catering service provider by 3%.
(Authored by Coralie Lamarque, Edited by Augustin Turpin)
