European stocks retreat as oil price rally resumes amid Middle East conflict

European stock markets traded sharply lower on Friday, reversing their positive start to the session, as oil prices resumed their rally amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 1.7% by 2:27 p.m. in London (9:27 a.m. ET), with most major bourses and almost all sectors in negative territory.

Capital markets are capping off a volatile week that saw a sell-off grip assets across the board following the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.

Stocks listed in Europe ended Thursday’s session broadly lower, as uncertainty around the conflict in the Middle East lingered and overwrote some tentative optimism that saw regional equities claw back some lost ground on Wednesday.

For the week, the pan-European Stoxx 600 is on course for a 4.6% loss – its deepest since last April, at the height of market fears about a U.S.-China trade war.

Oil prices surged again on Friday, with global benchmark Brent crude gaining 5.4% to trade at $90.08 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was last seen up 8.4% at $87.89.

It comes after the U.S. issued a 30-day waiver to India — the world’s third-largest oil importer — to resume purchases of Russian oil. Washington had earlier imposed 25% “penalty” tariffs on India for buying Russian crude, which were revoked last month.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that there would be no deal to end the war with Iran except “unconditional surrender” by Iran as the conflict entered its seventh day.

“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

In a press conference on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. had “only just begun to fight.”

“Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation,” he told reporters. “There’s no shortage of American will here … If you think you’ve seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power that’s still flowing, that’s still coming, that we’ll be able to project over Iran is at multiples of what it currently is right now when you add up our capabilities and those of the Israeli Defense Forces.”

Among individual European stocks, Sectra surged 10.5% to top the Stoxx 600 after the Swedish medtech name posted an 8% net sales increase in the nine months between May 2025 and January 2026, reaching $272 million, as operating profits reached $54 million, a 21% rise.

German defense name Renk was up 2.5% in early afternoon trade, partly reversing the previous session’s losses, while ITV added 5% following reports that the U.K. broadcaster remains in talks with Sky over a possible sale of its television business.

Asian stocks rose on Friday, while U.S. stocks fell, adding to their weekly declines.