(RTTNews) - European stocks went sliding down south Monday morning, with many of the markets falling to multi-month lows, as deepening conflict in the Middle East, and rising concerns about inflation due the steep rise in oil prices rendered the mood extremely bearish. Brent crude futures, which rose to a nearly four-year high to $119.50 a barrel earlier, dropped to around $100 later on in the day...
(RTTNews) - European stocks went sliding down south Monday morning, with many of the markets falling to multi-month lows, as deepening conflict in the Middle East, and rising concerns about inflation due the steep rise in oil prices rendered the mood extremely bearish. Brent crude futures, which rose to a nearly four-year high to $119.50 a barrel earlier, dropped to around $100 later on in the day, but still remained nearly 8% up from Friday's close. Tensions in the Gulf escalated following reports of explosions at Al Udeid Air Base, the largest United States military installation in the Middle East. Bahrain's state oil company has declared force majeure on its shipments after Iranian strikes in the region set the largest oil facility on fire. An unexpected drop in German industrial production in the month of January and a sharp drop in German factors weighed as well. Some of the markets in the region recovered some lost ground and trimmed their losses as the day progressed. The slump was widespread in most of the markets across Europe, and stocks from financials, mining, industrials and aviation sectors were some of the worst hit. The pan European Stoxx 600 closed down 0.62%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.34% down, Germany's DAX settled lower by 0.82% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.98%. Switzerland's SMI dropped 0.73%. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye ended with sharp to moderate losses. Denmark and Poland declined marginally, while Netherlands, Norway and Russia closed higher. In the UK market, Persimmon, Intertek Group, Segro, British Land, JD Sports Fashion, Mondi, Land Securities, Easyjet, Anglo American Plc, IMI and LondonMetric Property ended lower by 3%-6% Marks & Spencer, Standard Life, Weir Group, Melrose Industries, Smith & Nephew, Aviva, Convatec Group, M&G, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Antofagasta and Reckitt Benckiser also declined sharply. Metlen Energy & Metals ...