European shares rebound as worries of US involvement in Middle East ease
June 20 (Reuters) - European shares rebounded on Friday after three sessions of declines, as a stall in the United States' involvement in the Middle East conflict came as a relief to worried investors.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.4% at 537.98 points at 0708 GMT. The benchmark is on track to log weekly declines for a second week.
Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks.
The news improved market mood and helped recover some interest in risk assets that were being sold off during the week on uncertainty around how long the conflict would go on.
In the market, travel and leisure stocks (.SXTP), opens new tab gained the most, up 1.1%, as oil prices eased.
Conversely, energy shares (.SXEP), opens new tab were at the bottom of the index with a 0.7% decline, trimming some gains from this week.
Among stocks, London's Berkeley (BKGH.L), opens new tab was the biggest percentage decliner, down 8%. The homebuilder named current finance chief Richard Stern as its new CEO, but reported an annual pre-tax profit slightly ahead of market expectations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK's Mulberry plans 20 million pound capital raise as losses mount
June 20 - Britain's Mulberry Group (MUL.L), opens new tab said on Friday it intends to raise 20 million pounds ($26.98 million) of capital to help fund its growth strategy, as the embattled luxury firm forecast a loss of 23 million pounds for fiscal 2025. ($1 = 0.7412 pounds)
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
More Schengen limits introduced as Belgium announces border checks
Belgium is set to introduce border checks this summer in a bid to curb illegal migration, marking a further restriction on free movement within Europe's Schengen zone. The new measures, confirmed on Friday by a spokesperson for junior migration minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, will affect those entering the country, which shares borders with the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, and Germany. The move signals another challenge to the principle of open borders across the continent. Prime Minister Bart De Wever, in office since February, has said curbing migration is a key priority for his right-leaning government. "Time for entry controls. Belgium must not be a magnet for those stopped elsewhere. Our message is clear: Belgium will no longer tolerate illegal migration and asylum shopping," Van Bossuyt wrote on X. The announcement follows similar moves by the Netherlands and Germany, part of a broader crackdown on migration across the continent, even as numbers of arrivals on many major routes have shown signs of falling. "The checks will be carried out in a targeted manner on major access roads such as motorway car parks, on bus traffic ... on certain trains ... and on intra-Schengen flights from countries with high migration pressure, such as Greece and Italy," a Belgian government statement said late on Thursday. Belgium is part of the open-border Schengen area which guarantees free travel between its 29 member states. Under article 23 of the Schengen Borders Code, members can temporarily reinstate border checks in response to security or migration pressures. A spokesperson for the Belgian Immigration Office said it was difficult to give figures for illegal immigration at the moment without the systematic border checks. Belgium, one of the world's richest countries, received 39,615 asylum applications in 2024, 11.6% more than in 2023, numbers from the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers show. The country had the capacity to take in 35,600 applicants in 2024, according to the figures, leaving many arrivals without proper accommodation. European Union ministers agreed to let Bulgaria and Romania join Europe 's ID-check free travel zone, known as the Schengen area, by lifting land border controls from this year.
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Fearful of Iranian missiles, many sleep in Israel's underground train stations
Aziza Melech felt her body relax for the first time in days when she settled onto her inflatable mattress in an underground station of Israel's light rail system on a recent evening. For the next few hours, at least, the 34-year-old event planner wouldn't need to run every time a siren warning of Iranian missiles sounded. Since the war began a week ago with Israel's airstrikes on Iran, families with young kids, foreign workers, and young professionals have brought mattresses and sleeping bags, snacks and pets into the stations each evening. Repeatedly running for shelter On Wednesday night, in a station that straddles Tel Aviv and neighboring Ramat Gan, parents settled in their kids with stuffed animals, while young people fired up tablets loaded with movies. Many walked in carrying boxes of pizza. Workers set out snacks and coffee. It was Melech's first night sleeping in the brightly lit train station, and she was joined by her friend Sonia Shraibmen. 'We're not sleeping because of the anxiety and because of the sirens that are happening during the nights,' said Shraibmen. 'It's very scary to run every time to the shelter.' That morning, Shraibmen fell on the street while rushing to a nearby shelter, and decided to move somewhere where she wouldn't have to get up and run each time her phone blared. Melech said the scene, with hundreds of people in their pajamas in the train station, reminded her of her grandfather's stories from World War II. 'Now, we'll be able to tell our grandkids about this,' she said. The war between Israel and Iran began on June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites as well as top generals and nuclear scientists. More than 600 people, including over 200 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. People in Tehran have also packed into metro stations as strikes boomed overhead. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Those strikes have killed have killed 24 people and injured hundreds in Israel. Missiles have struck 40 different sites, including apartment buildings, offices and a hospital, according to authorities. Footage of pancaked buildings or apartment towers with faces sheared off has forced some people to reconsider what they do when a siren blares. The Tel Aviv light rail, which is not running because of the war, has several underground stations. In addition to the hundreds who sleep in them each night, thousands of others come only when when there's a siren, crowding into every part of the station not taken up by mattresses. Those living older apartments lack shelter Around half of the nighttime residents at the train station are foreign workers, who often live in older apartment buildings that are often not equipped with adequate shelters. While new buildings in Israel are required to have reinforced safe rooms meant to withstand rockets, Iran is firing much stronger ballistic missiles. And shelter access is severely lacking in poorer neighborhoods and towns, especially in Arab areas. Babu Chinabery, a home health aide from India, said he went to the station 'because we are very scared about the missiles because they're so strong.' Chinabery, 48, has been in Israel for 10 years, so he is no stranger to the sirens. But the past week has been something different. 'It's very difficult, that's why we're coming to sleep here,' he said. The light rail stations aren't the only places people have sought shelter. Around 400 people also sleep in an underground parking garage at one of the city's biggest malls each night, according to organizers. Mutual aid groups set up more than 100 tents, each one in a parking space, providing a bit more privacy for people who wanted to sleep in a safe area. Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station — a half-abandoned cement behemoth — also opened its underground atomic shelter to the public for the first time in years. While likely one of the safest places in Israel during a missile attack, the creepily deserted rat- and cockroach-infested shelter, filled with standing water from leaky pipes, attracted only a handful of curious onlookers during the day and no residents at night. Not taking 'unnecessary risks' Roi Asraf, 45, has been sleeping at the train station in Ramat Gan for the past few nights with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, even though they have a safe room at home. 'I don't like to take unnecessary risks,' he said. They now have the routine down: They give their daughter a bath at home, get everyone in their pajamas, and walk to the train station by 7 p.m. Local volunteers have run a nightly show for kids to help settle them before sleep. 'I hope (the conflict) will be short and quick,' said Asraf, after his daughter, Ariel, bounded off with her mom to catch the show. Despite the difficulties, he supports Israel's attack on Iran. 'If I have to sleep a week of my life in a train station for everything to be safer, I'm willing to do it,' he said.
