[STOCK MARKET UPDATE] Markets fall amid renewed tensions in the Middle East

Investors are scaling back their risk-taking this Thursday as oil prices rise again and geopolitical fears dominate trading.

The Paris Stock Exchange opened lower this Thursday morning, down 0.4%, driven by a sharp resurgence of risk aversion in global markets. Investors reacted to a new escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

The same was true across the rest of Europe, where the London Stock Exchange was down about 0.8% in early trading, and in Milan, where the FTSE MIB fell about 0.5% at the open.

Finally, the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4% in the morning while oil prices surged by more than 2.5%, with Brent crude once again approaching the $100-per-barrel mark.

Oil at the center of concerns

The rise in oil prices has once again become the main driver of financial markets. Brent was trading around $97 a barrel on Thursday, fueled by fears of disruptions to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

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