Europe midday: Energy shares lift Stoxx as crude touches $95

(Sharecast News) - Energy shares pushed European markets higher as oil touched $95 a barrel on Wednesday as military exchanges between the US and Iran intensified over the disputed Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.51% to 646 at 1158 with major market higher.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of not honouring the Strait of Hormuz deal as American forces hit more Iranian targets for the 11th straight day.

He added that Tehran "demands the right" to control traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which was a breach of international law.

"If we create a precedent in the Middle East, where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don't pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," Rubio warned at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in the Philippines.

Brent crude jumped 3.44% to $94, while West Texas Intermediate was up 2.88% to $87.22.

In equity news, shares in Finland's HIAB jumped as second quarter revenues beat estimates at the crane maker.

Equinor gained as the energy giant lifted its quarterly share buyback as higher production helped the company cash in on surging oil and gas prices due to the Iran war.

Randstat shares surged after second quarter results, while Airbus gained after the aircraft maker launched a €​5bn share ​buyback programme and new mid-term targets including a near-doubling of profits by 2029.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com