Stocks in Europe rise fast in defiance of Trump and war threats What else is in the markets

European stocks jumped in trading on March 4: the main indices rose more than 1%, except for the British index. Markets in Europe rose on Wednesday, despite the collapse in Asia, where, for example, Japan's Nikkei 225 index collapsed by 3.6%. Markets are trying to assess the latest developments in the US-Israeli war against Iran and are watching oil, which is rising but holding so far below the peak reached the day before.

The regional Stoxx 600 index was up about 1.8% in afternoon trading Wednesday. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.7%, while Germany's DAX was up 1.7% and France's CAC 40 was adding 1.2%. Spain's IBEX 35 was also up 2%, although it was just below zero in early trading after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade with the country altogether. Spain refused to allow U.S. troops to use its bases to strike Iran, CNBC specified.

At the same time, gas became cheaper in Europe: benchmark futures declined by 9.5%, Bloomberg writes. According to the agency, the occasion was the report of The New York Times that the Iranian side offered the United States to discuss the conditions for ending the war. "The article suggests that the Iranians are open to dialog. But the real decline in prices to levels that were before the beginning of March depends on an end to the attacks," said Rabobank energy market strategist Florence Schmit in a Bloomberg statement.

U.S. stock futures showed positive dynamics - although not as pronounced as in Europe. Contracts for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 0.3% after all major U.S. stock indices declined on March 3. The VIX index, known as the Wall Street Fear Index, was losing 2.5% on Wednesday but remained above the psychological 20-point mark.

Trading in Asia ended with a sharp decline. Japanese Nikkei 225 collapsed by 3.6%, and South Korean Kospi - by 12%. For the market of South Korea it became the strongest collapse since 2008, writes MarketWatch.

On March 4, Brent oil rose in price by about 1.4% to $82.5 per barrel. At the same time, a day earlier, quotes rose above $85, reaching the maximum since July 2024, but then rolled back.

The value of bitcoin rose above $71,000 - for the first time in about a month, according to data from CoinGecko. The largest cryptocurrency by capitalization rose in price by more than 5%.

One of the most stable markets at the moment is the British market - due to the high share of protective assets (pharmaceuticals, utilities) and beneficiaries of defense and energy sectors (BAE Systems, Shell, BP), the channel believes. The same opinion is held by Citigroup, which in early March upgraded the rating of British stocks.

The defensive status of British stocks is reinforced by the effect of a weak currency, as the pound's fall against the dollar benefits global corporations in the FTSE 100 index that generate most of their revenue overseas, CNBC writes.

Nevertheless, the protracted conflict in the Middle East poses serious risks for the UK economy due to its dependence on energy imports: a spike in gas prices and the threat of a new wave of inflation could force the Bank of England to maintain tight monetary policy, which would negatively affect government bonds and GDP growth, writes SNBC.

On March 3, regional European stocks declined as the conflict continued to weigh on global investor sentiment. Shares of banking and insurance sectors, tourism and recreation companies, as well as utilities were the leaders of the decline.

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