Stoxx 600, FTSE, DAX, Iran latest news, oil price
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the NCAA Collegiate National Champions Day event at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stock markets are expected to open in negative territory on Wednesday as investors consider the possibility of extending the ceasefire in Iran and continuation of peace talks.
of england FTSE index, Germany DAX and France CAC 40 While they are all expected to open 0.3% lower respectively, Italy’s FTSE MIB According to data from IG, it appears to be just a touch below the flat line.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended the US’s two-week ceasefire with Iran, saying the extension was necessary because Tehran’s government was “severely fragmented”.
Trump said the ceasefire, which he had previously said would end on Wednesday, would continue until Iran’s leaders and representatives present a “joint proposal” with the United States and Israel to end the war.
The president’s announcement follows reports that Vice President J.D. Vance’s anticipated visit to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks with Iranian officials has been suspended.
Iranian state news outlet Tasnim also reported that Tehran negotiators informed their US counterparts through an intermediary in Pakistan that they would not participate in further talks.
While the extension of the ceasefire kept oil prices moderate, Trump’s refusal to lift the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports kept market sentiment in check.
In a post on Truth Social he said: “They just say what they want [the Strait of Hormuz] off because it’s completely BLOCKED (OFF!), so they just want to ‘save face’.”
Trump added that lifting the blockade would mean “there can never be a deal with Iran unless they blow up the rest of their country, including their leaders.”
In Europe, Britain’s first inflation report covering the period since the start of the Iran war was published on Wednesday. According to official data, the country’s inflation rate rose to 3.3% in March; in line with economists’ expectations and more than 3% higher than the previous month. Rising fuel costs are helping drive up prices, officials said.
Suren Thiru, chief economist at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said in a note after the data release that Trump’s extension of the ceasefire on Iran “will not prevent a painful period of soaring energy costs and accelerated inflation, with food prices likely to push the headline rate above 4% by the autumn.”
Benchmark return 10-year UK government bond It was last traded at 4.873%, down almost 2 basis points. Sterling It rose against the US dollar and settled around $1.35, up 0.1%.
Earnings are also in the spotlight in Europe on Wednesday L’Oréal, ABB, EssilorLuxottica, Nordea Bank, sandvik, Danone, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Svenska Handelsbanken And carrefour All ready to report.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this market report.
