The continental stock market declined slightly, continuing its longest continuous decline since September 2023. Remarks about US intervention in the bond market caused sharp fluctuations in bond yields. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed down 0.1% on Thursday. The stock market fluctuates intraday with government bond yields; yields declined after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the scale of US Treasury repurchases could be increased. Consumer goods and retail stocks performed the worst, while energy stocks performed the best. As investors worried about the impasse between the US and Iran, the price of Brent crude oil exceeded $93 per barrel. European gas prices also rose to a five-month high. Europe's benchmark stock index has been rising since April and has reached record highs, but recently the trend has weakened. After earnings quarter results far exceeded analysts' expectations, geopolitical uncertainty persisted, and investors remained on the sidelines. “Investors are still very confident in stocks,” said Michael Field, chief stock market strategist at Morningstar Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “We live in an era where macroeconomics and geopolitics are very unstable. Investors have once again realized this over the past week or so, which is why the index has declined.”

The continental stock market declined slightly, continuing its longest continuous decline since September 2023. Remarks about US intervention in the bond market caused sharp fluctuations in bond yields. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed down 0.1% on Thursday. The stock market fluctuates intraday with government bond yields; yields declined after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the scale of US Treasury repurchases could be increased. Consumer goods and retail stocks performed the worst, while energy stocks performed the best. As investors worried about the impasse between the US and Iran, the price of Brent crude oil exceeded $93 per barrel. European gas prices also rose to a five-month high. Europe's benchmark stock index has been rising since April and has reached record highs, but recently the trend has weakened. After earnings quarter results far exceeded analysts' expectations, geopolitical uncertainty persisted, and investors remained on the sidelines. “Investors are still very confident in stocks,” said Michael Field, chief stock market strategist at Morningstar Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “We live in an era where macroeconomics and geopolitics are very unstable. Investors have once again realized this over the past week or so, which is why the index has declined.”