STOCK EXCHANGE: Europe opened to decline

Stock markets in Europe opened broadly lower on Monday. After the stock markets opened, the Stoxx 50 of large companies was down 0.19 percent and the broad Stoxx 600 was down 0.12 percent.

Among individual stock exchanges, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.24 percent, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.19 percent, and Paris’ CAC 40 was down 0.01 percent.

By industry, energy companies in Europe were up 0.93 percent. The weakest sector on Monday morning was industry, whose companies were down 0.81 percent.

Norwegian oil company Equinor was up 2.24 percent on Monday morning. The company has benefited greatly from the war in the Middle East.

Major defense companies were down on Monday. Leonardo was down 2.83 percent, Rheinmetall 1.56 percent down and Saab 1.54 percent down.

According to Bloomberg sources, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni would be changing management personnel in many state-owned companies, including Leonardo.

Shares in Asian stock markets fell in the morning after the threat of a continuation of the war in the Middle East rose Donald Trump’s with the speeches. President of the United States told the Financial Times on Sunday that he wanted to “take Iran’s oil” and hinted at an attack on the island of Kharg, which is important for oil transportation.

The price of Brent oil rose to more than 115 dollars per barrel on Monday morning. European countries are less dependent on Middle Eastern oil than Asian countries, but they are still affected by the price effect of the world market.

On Monday, we will receive economic data on EU consumer confidence in March and, in addition, German inflation data from March. Annual inflation is expected to be 2.70 percent.

Based on index futures, an upward opening is expected for the United States on Monday.