European stocks fluctuate early on; oil prices rise over 2%

U.S. President Trump’s ultimatum to Iran is counting down, and European stock markets showed mixed early performance.

As of 3:39 p.m. Hong Kong time, the UK FTSE 100 index was at 10,433 points, down 3 points or 0.03%; Germany’s DAX index was at 23,124 points, down 44 points or 0.19%; France’s CAC 40 index was at 7,999 points, up 37 points or 0.47%; Italy’s FTSE MIB index was at 45,779 points, up 154 points or 0.34%.

Dow Jones futures were temporarily at 46,785 points, down 117 points.

On Monday, Trump warned that unless Tehran reaches an agreement to end the Iran war, he will order a large-scale attack on Iran’s civilian power plants and bridges on Tuesday evening.

Iran’s armed forces criticized Trump’s daydreams, saying that his rude and arrogant remarks, as well as baseless threats, stem from being stuck in a stalemate, and are also an excuse for the U.S. military’s repeated failures. It emphasized that Iran’s military actions against the United States and Israel will not be affected.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence reports in recent days have warned that Iran is unlikely to open the Strait of Hormuz in the short term, because control of this world’s most important oil artery is the only leverage Iran has in its hands to check the United States.

With oil prices rising, New York crude oil futures were currently at $115 per barrel, up $2.59 or 2.3%; London Brent crude was at $111.42 per barrel, up $1.65 or 1.5%.