The European stock markets rebounded during this second session of the week, buoyed by hopes 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.
In the United States, the major indices are in the green: the Dow Jones is up 0.66% and the Nasdaq is advancing by 1.39%, heading straight for a tenth consecutive session of gains, a series unseen since 2021.
Discussions between the US and Iran could resume as early as this week, reigniting hopes of a de-escalation on the geopolitical front. In this context, oil prices fell back below $100, with Brent closing at 96.04 USD after European market close.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Middle East war has caused “the most serious oil supply shock in history”. The agency also anticipates the strongest demand contraction since the Covid-19 pandemic in the second quarter. “Oil demand is expected to fall by 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, with the conflict in Iran disrupting our global outlook,” it said in its March monthly report.
In its latest forecasts, the International Monetary Fund does not rule out the risk of a global recession in case of prolonged conflict, while emphasizing that this scenario is not currently its central hypothesis.
“The fact that a ceasefire has been reached reduces the probability of our most pessimistic scenario, without guaranteeing a rapid 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 breakeven (-0.06%) after briefly being the worst performer during the session, with the luxury giant reporting quarterly sales below expectations.
The flagship index of the Paris stock exchange was boosted by Eurofins (+5.52%), after announcing an agreement to divest its electrical and electronic testing business UL Solutions for an enterprise value of 575 million euros.
Publicis (+1.81%) had a solid session after reporting results generally in line with expectations.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro rose by 0.22% to 1.1793 USD.
[Context: European stock markets show positive performance on hopes of US-Iran negotiations, while US markets also rise. Oil prices fall below $100 amid geopolitical tension. IEA warns of major oil supply shock, IMF considers risk of recession, and major companies like LVMH, Eurofins, and Publicis share quarterly results. Forex market sees rise in euro value against USD.]
