European stocks edged higher Monday as investors continue to monitor geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran stoking fears of a military confrontation in the Middle East.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.2% early in the morning session, auto stocks tumbling 1% in the early minutes of trade following a Daimler profit warning, while financial services climbed 0.6%.
European Markets: FTSE, GDAXI, FCHI, IBEX
The U.S. is planning to impose major new sanctions on Iran despite a diplomatic push from European leaders to urge restraint from leaders in Washington and Tehran. However, U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both said over the weekend that the White House is prepared to negotiate with Iran without preconditions, days after the two nations almost came to blows over the downing of an American surveillance drone.
Stocks in Asia traded mixed Monday afternoon while oil prices continued to surge due to U.S.-Iran tensions. Mainline Chinese stocks slipped by the afternoon, while indexes in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea edged higher.
Trade relations between the U.S. and China will also be in focus once again, after Chinese vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Monday that Beijing would like the U.S. to cancel “inappropriate” actions against Chinese technology companies.
Back in Europe, the frontrunner to become Britain’s next prime minister, Boris Johnson, faces his successor as foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in the final round of voting among the Conservative party membership to take over from Prime Minister Theresa May.
Daimler cut its 2019 earnings outlook Sunday after lifting provisions for issues related to its diesel vehicles by hundreds of millions of euros, sending auto stocks lower across the continent. The company’s stock fell 3.3% in early trade to the bottom of the Stoxx 600. The DAX was the only index trading in negative territory during the morning session, as the announcement weighed on German markets.
At the other end of the European blue chip index, German therapeutic antibody company Morphosys climbed more than 6% after presenting promising primary analysis data from a clinical trial.
Danske Bank announced Monday that it has dismissed the head of its Danish banking activities, Jesper Nielsen, after thousands of customers paid excessive fees for an investment product. Danske shares traded 1.4% lower following the news.
