Hopes for an end to the war have pushed up EU stocks. Why does the analyst advise waiting?

European stock indices are rising on April 1 following the previous day's surge in U.S. stocks on Wall Street - markets are reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's statements about the likely end of the war with Iran within two to three weeks, Bloomberg writes.

Against this background, the pan-European index Stoxx 600 in the first minutes of trading added 0.54%, the French CAC 40 - in the plus by 0.57%, the German DAX is growing by 0.52%, the British FTSE 100 - by 0.48%.

June Brent crude futures are losing about 3% against the previous close and are trading around $100 per barrel. Contracts for U.S. WTI crude oil are also down 4% at $97.49.

However, Vincent Juvins, chief investment strategist at ING in Brussels, warns that while the tone of the US and Iranian leaders has softened, there is no guarantee that the conflict in the Middle East will, indeed, end soon - there is no guarantee. "It's too early to get back into the market, let's wait and see what happens. As far as I understand, the Strait of Hormuz is still closed," he stated, noting that ING analysts were taking a "neutral stance on equities" (quoted by Bloomberg). "We will maintain this view until a concrete agreement is reached," Juvins added.

The Stoxx Europe 600 has lost 8% since the conflict in the Middle East escalated on Feb. 28, its biggest one-month drop since 2022.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor