US President Donald Trump speaks through the NCAA Collegiate Nationwide Champions Day occasion on the White Home in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Photos
LONDON — European shares opened greater on Wednesday as merchants assessed the Iran ceasefire extension and the prospect of additional peace talks.
Shortly after the opening bell, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was about 0.2% greater, with most sectors and main regional bourses in constructive territory. London’s FTSE 100 traded flat.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday prolonged the two-week U.S. ceasefire with Iran, saying the extension was warranted on account of Tehran’s authorities being “critically fractured.”
Trump mentioned the ceasefire, which he earlier had mentioned would finish on Wednesday, would proceed “till such time as” Iran’s leaders and representatives submit a “unified proposal” to finish the battle with the U.S. and Israel.
The President’s announcement got here after reviews that an anticipated journey by Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan for a second spherical of peace talks with Iranian officers had been placed on maintain.
Iranian state information outlet Tasnim additionally reported that negotiators from Tehran had knowledgeable their U.S. counterparts by way of an middleman in Pakistan that they’d not seem for additional talks.
Whereas the ceasefire extension noticed oil costs reasonable, market sentiment was saved in examine by Trump’s refusal to carry the continued U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
He mentioned in a Reality Social publish: “They solely say they need [the Strait of Hormuz] closed as a result of I’ve it completely BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so that they merely wish to ‘save face.'”
Trump added that lifting the blockade would imply “there can by no means be a Take care of Iran, until we blow up the remainder of their Nation, their leaders included.”
Again in Europe, the U.Okay.’s first inflation print masking the interval because the Iran battle started was launched on Wednesday. The nation’s inflation price jumped to three.3% in March, official knowledge confirmed, in keeping with economists’ expectations and up from 3% the earlier month. Officers mentioned greater gasoline prices had helped push the costs greater.
Suren Thiru, chief economist on the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, mentioned in a word following the info launch that Trump’s prolonged ceasefire deadline for Iran “will not forestall a painful interval of accelerating inflation with skyrocketing power prices and meals costs prone to carry the headline price above 4% by the autumn.”
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.Okay. authorities bond was final seen buying and selling nearly 2 foundation factors decrease at 4.873%. Sterling ticked greater towards the U.S. greenback, gaining 0.1% to settle at round $1.35.
Earnings are additionally in focus in Europe on Wednesday with L’Oreal, ABB, EssilorLuxottica, Nordea Financial institution, Sandvik, Danone, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Svenska Handelsbanken and Carrefour all set to report.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this market report.
