Europe midday: Markets rally despite latest Iran-US conflict

(Sharecast News) - European shares rallied by midday Monday and oil prices were still higher as the US military launched fresh attacks on Iran amid increasing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.08% to 640 at 1204 BST. Major bourses had recovered from morning losses with the exception on the UK's FTSE 100 which was 0.13% lower. Brent crude rose 3.3% to $78.54 a barrel.

Tehran said it had closed the strait of Hormuz, while Donald Trump insisted the key shipping passage remained open.

American forces began launching more strikes against Iran at 2100 GMT on Sunday according to US Central Command "to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz".

In response, Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting US military forces. Jordan's army said it had shot down four Iranian missiles while Kuwait said it was responding to "hostile aerial targets" and Bahrain accused Tehran of targeting civilians.

The strikes saw oil stocks rise, as expected, with Aker BP, Repsol and Equinor among the gainers while travel and leisure names fell, with Lufthansa, Ryanair and TUI all lower.

Tech shares were also weaker after SK Hynix slid in Seoul after its Nasdaq debut last week.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com