Key Takeaways

• Mixed open: The Stoxx 600 held mostly flat, Germany’s DAX inched 0.1% higher, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.5%.
• Trump’s verbal blast: The president took to social media to declare he did not “like” Iran’s counteroffer, calling it “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
• Iran’s demands: Tehran’s response focused on concluding the fighting on all fronts and demanding compensation for war damage.
• Hormuz control: Iran stressed its control over the strategic waterway, which has been effectively shut and blockaded by both sides.
• Brent surges: Oil prices climbed 3.4% to $104.69 per barrel as peace deal hopes faded.
• Inflation fears return: Soaring crude prices are reigniting concerns about a global inflationary spike.
• U.S. proposal: Washington had pushed for a swift end to the war, followed by detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
• AI rally still potent: Enthusiasm around artificial intelligence stocks has helped Wall Street notch fresh all-time highs despite war headwinds.
• Delivery Hero soars: Shares jumped more than 5% after Prosus sold a 5% stake to Hong Kong’s Aspex for 335 million euros.

European stocks were mixed on Monday, with investors cautiously assessing President Donald Trump’s comments over the weekend that Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”

By 03:04 ET (07:04 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 was mostly unchanged, while Germany’s DAX had inched up 0.1%, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 had gained 0.4%, and France’s CAC 40 was lower by 0.5%.

Iran’s Counteroffer Falls Flat

According to Iranian state TV, Tehran issued a response to the U.S. plan to end their more than two-month-old conflict — focusing on concluding the fighting on all fronts and demanding compensation for war damage.

Iran also stressed that it controlled the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane off the country’s southern coast through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. The strait has been all but shuttered during the conflict, and is now blockaded by both the United States and Iran.

Writing on social media within hours after Iran appeared to make its counteroffer, Trump said that he did not “like” it. Washington has proposed bringing the war to a swift end, followed by more detailed negotiations on key issues — especially Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Oil Reignites Inflation Worries

Oil prices, which have soared well above pre-war levels and fueled worries over an inflationary spike in countries around the world, marched higher on Monday. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were last 3.4% higher at $104.69 a barrel.

AI Boom Provides Counterweight

Away from geopolitics, traders were also keeping tabs on the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence-related stocks, with enthusiasm around these names helping U.S. stocks shrug off most headwinds from the war and log fresh all-time peaks in recent days.

In individual stocks, shares of Delivery Hero rose by more than 5% after Prosus offloaded a 5% stake in the business to Hong Kong’s Aspex for 335 million euros.