European markets slump as Iran war intensifies; miners lead losses

Shortly after the opening bell, the U.K.’s FTSE index opened 1.15% lower, Germany’s DAX was down 1.4%, France’s CAC 40 was down 1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB was 1.2% lower.

Miners led losses, with the Stoxx Europe Basic Resources sector last seen trading down 4.5% at 8:45 a.m. London time (4:45 a.m. E.T.). This followed a sharp sell-off in the spot price of gold and silver, which fell 2.6% and 6.9% respectively.

Large FTSE 100 miners Antofagasta and Fresnillo were both last seen trading down 6%, as heightened inflation fears and rising energy prices affect producers’ margins.

All other sectors were in the red during early trade, including banks and travel stocks.

A significant escalation in the conflict came Wednesday when Israel launched strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory missile attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas terminal.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that if Iran continued targeting Qatar’s energy facilities, America would “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field.” Oil prices jumped once again overnight following the strikes and comments.

European market attention is also turning to central bank action in the region today with monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Riksbank and Swiss National Bank on Thursday.

U.S. stock futures inched lower overnight after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped to a fresh 2026 low.

The decline came after a surprisingly hot producer prices report, and greater inflation expectations from the Federal Reserve, which have added to fears that the war in Iran could mean the U.S. economy is headed for a stagflation scenario — or a period of lower growth and higher pricing pressures. Asia-Pacific markets dipped on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street.

Earnings come from Enel, Equinor, BASF, Argenx and Vonovia.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min contributed to this market report.