European Stocks Weaken, Oil Supports
European stock markets opened lower on Monday (July 13th), as investors adopted a cautious stance at the start of the week. The STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 indices each fell 0.2% after oil prices rebounded due to escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran.
Market sentiment was weighed down after Iran claimed to have closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy trade. However, US President Donald Trump asserted that the route remains open to commercial traffic. This discrepancy in claims has heightened market vigilance over the risk of oil supply disruptions from the Middle East.
The technology sector was one of the main drags on European stocks. Pressure arose after shares of South Korea's SK Hynix plunged 15%, the largest daily drop in the company's history, as investors took profits after an earlier surge. The market also began to reassess the demand outlook for artificial intelligence (AI)-based products.
In Europe, major technology stocks also weakened. ASML Holding fell 2%, while Infineon Technologies slumped 3%, becoming one of the weakest performing stocks of the session. This weakening indicates that investors are becoming more selective with technology stocks after the previous strong rally.
Conversely, the energy sector actually recorded gains due to rising oil prices. BP rose 2.6%, Eni rose 2.5%, TotalEnergies added 1.9%, and Repsol rose 1.7%. Given these conditions, European markets still have the potential to move cautiously as the market awaits developments in the US-Iran conflict and the start of the corporate earnings season. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
