European stock markets experienced a slight decline on Thursday, with investors adopting a cautious stance while awaiting further developments in the peace talks between the United States and Iran.
Iran stated it is reviewing the latest proposal from Washington aimed at ending the conflict, while U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he is willing to patiently await a "satisfactory response" from Tehran. However, he warned that the U.S. would resume military strikes if an agreement cannot be reached.
As of 07:01 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.2% at 618.79 points. The index had risen 1.5% on Wednesday, approaching a two-week high.
While global stock markets have broadly rebounded, European equities have struggled to recover to their pre-conflict levels. This lag is primarily attributed to two factors: the high dependency of European economies on oil imports and their relatively limited positioning within the artificial intelligence technology sector.
Sources informed Reuters that the rationale for a European Central Bank interest rate hike in June is largely established. However, the central bank may maintain an ambiguous stance regarding subsequent rate increases.
Current pricing in the money markets indicates expectations for the European Central Bank to implement more than two cumulative rate hikes by the end of the year.
In individual stock movements, shares of British budget airline easyJet fell by 1.8%. The company reported a loss for the first half of its fiscal year and stated that the full-year outlook remains uncertain due to the impact of the Iran conflict.
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