A trader works at his desk on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on May 19, 2026.
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LONDON — European stocks edged lower on Thursday as investors assessed the latest geopolitical news and oil prices fell.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was hovering just below the flatline by 8:55 a.m. in London (3:55 a.m. E.T.). Major bourses in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Milan were all seen lower, while regional sectors were mixed.
Eutelsat, the Paris-headquartered global satellite operator, rose 10% in morning trade, extending the company’s rally to 22% for the week. The rally in shares of Eutelsat — often described as the European challenger to SpaceX — comes ahead of the Elon Musk-backed rocket-maker’s landmark IPO.
However, there is a vast gap between the two companies in terms of scale. While SpaceX could be valued at a record-breaking $1.75 trillion at IPO early next month, Eutelsat has a market capitalization of just 4.05 billion euro ($4.7 billion).
Elsewhere, shares in EasyJet were 0.3% lower after the low-cost carrier revealed the Middle East conflict has delayed bookings and heightened costs. The London-listed airline reported a pre-tax loss of £552 million ($741 million) for the six months to March 31, up from £394 million a year ago.
European bourses appeared to be unmoved by wider market optimism overnight that the Middle East conflict could end soon.
Positive sentiment was evident in the Asia-Pacific trading session after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington was in the “final stages” of negotiations with Iran, according to a pool report.
U.S. crude oil prices edged below $100 per barrel as a result of the comments. West Texas Intermediate futures were last seen at $99.72 per barrel, a 1.5% rise on the day. International benchmark Brent futures were up 1.4% in early dealmaking at $106.44 per barrel.
Trump said earlier this week that he called off renewed military strikes against Iran to give more time for diplomacy at the request of Gulf Arab allies.
Earnings come from Generali and BT Group in Europe on Thursday. There are no major data releases.
— CNBC’s Justina Lee and Spencer Kimball contributed to the report.
