{"id":9750,"date":"2026-05-18T14:54:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/european-stocks-iran-tensions\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T14:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:54:03","slug":"european-stocks-iran-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/news\/economy-news\/european-stocks-iran-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"European stocks fall as Iran tensions drive oil and bond market moves"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>European equity markets open lower<\/h2>\n<p>The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.7% shortly after 8:40 a.m. in London (3:40 a.m. E.T.) on Monday, with major bourses in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan all trading lower. The weakness in Europe followed declines across Asia-Pacific markets.<\/p>\n<p>By sector, energy stocks rose 0.7% in early trade, supported by higher oil prices. Media stocks gained 1.1%, while all other European sectors slipped into the red.<\/p>\n<p>The market moves came after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran on Sunday via Truth Social, urging the country to &quot;get moving, FAST&quot; on a peace deal and stating that &quot;the clock is ticking.&quot; He warned there &quot;won&#39;t be anything left&quot; if action is not taken soon, adding that &quot;time is of the essence.&quot; The comments come amid apparent deadlock in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n<h2>Oil prices rise and bond yields climb<\/h2>\n<p>Oil prices advanced overnight, with international benchmark Brent crude futures for July up 1.57% to $110.97 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June increased 1.89% to $107.41 per barrel. The rise in energy costs is a key topic for G7 finance ministers and central bankers meeting later Monday in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>The gains in oil prices coincided with a sharp sell-off in global bond markets. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasurys was last seen up more than 1% at 4.6073%, a 15-month high. In the U.K., 10-year Gilt yields, the benchmark for government borrowing, reached 5.165% on Monday, though they eased by about 1 basis point. In Germany, 10-year bund yields were more than 2 basis points higher at 3.1776%.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate focus: Ryanair results and fuel hedging<\/h2>\n<p>Ryanair shares were down 3.3% after the budget airline reported an after-tax profit of 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for the year ending March, a 40% increase. Despite the strong earnings figure, the stock declined in Monday trading.<\/p>\n<p>Ryanair\u2019s chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said the carrier has hedged 80% of its summer jet fuel and prepared for what he called an &quot;Armageddon situation,&quot; reflecting ongoing uncertainty around future oil costs.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Why did European stocks open lower on Monday?<\/strong><br \/>European stocks declined as investors reacted to rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, higher oil prices, and a sell-off in global bond markets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which sectors gained despite the broader market decline?<\/strong><br \/>Energy stocks rose 0.7% and media stocks gained 1.1%, while all other European sectors traded in negative territory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did oil prices move in early trading?<\/strong><br \/>Brent crude futures for July increased 1.57% to $110.97 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June rose 1.89% to $107.41 per barrel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What happened to Ryanair\u2019s shares after its earnings report?<\/strong><br \/>Ryanair\u2019s shares fell 3.3% even though the airline reported a 40% increase in after-tax profit to 2.3 billion euros for the year ending March and outlined extensive fuel hedging for the summer.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Why did European stocks open lower on Monday?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"European stocks declined as investors reacted to rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, higher oil prices, and a sell-off in global bond markets.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Which sectors gained despite the broader market decline?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Energy stocks rose 0.7% and media stocks gained 1.1%, while all other European sectors traded in negative territory.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"How did oil prices move in early trading?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Brent crude futures for July increased 1.57% to $110.97 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June rose 1.89% to $107.41 per barrel.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What happened to Ryanair\u2019s shares after its earnings report?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Ryanair\u2019s shares fell 3.3% even though the airline reported a 40% increase in after-tax profit to 2.3 billion euros for the year ending March and outlined extensive fuel hedging for the summer.\"\n      }\n    }\n  ]\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European equity markets open lower The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.7% shortly after 8:40 a.m. in London (3:40 a.m. E.T.) on Monday, with major bourses in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan all trading lower. The weakness in Europe followed declines across Asia-Pacific markets. By sector, energy stocks rose 0.7% in early trade, supported [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9751,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9750\/revisions\/9751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otetmarkets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}