Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts a rocket as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on October 1, 2024.
Amir Cohen | Reuters
LONDON — European stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday as investors tried to look beyond escalating tensions in the Middle East and awaited new jobs data from the region.
Pan-European Stoke 600 It opened trading up 0.17%, with most industries and major exchanges in the green. Oil and gas stocks rose 1.54% on the prospect of supply disruptions in the Middle East, while travel and leisure stocks fell 0.55% as airlines rerouted flights out of the country.
On the equity front, defense companies advanced on rising conflict risks, with Saab and BAE Systems increased by 2.2%, while Thales and Rheinmetall Both rose more than 1.3%.
Meanwhile, UK sports retailer shares JD Sports The 3.5% decline came despite the company reporting first-half revenue and profit that beat expectations. Its revenue is NikeThe products it sells performed poorly on Tuesday.
Wall Street's trading month got off to a rocky start, with the Nasdaq Composite down 1.5% and the S&P 500 down 0.9%, after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel in retaliation for its recent killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. and Iranian commanders in Lebanon.
The attack came after Israel deployed ground troops to southern Lebanon in an escalating offensive against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Oil prices soared after the attack, while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), known as Wall Street's fear gauge, crossed 20 points to reach its highest point of the day.
U.S. futures remained lower in overnight trading, while Asia-Pacific markets were mixed.
Markets in mainland China were closed on Wednesday for the Golden Week holiday and will remain closed for the rest of the week. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose more than 6%, signaling greater optimism about Beijing's stimulus policies.
Back in Europe, investors are awaiting fresh unemployment data from the region as well as data on UK house prices.
—CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.