European stocks open mixed as investors weigh risk of wider conflict in Middle East – NBC Boston

• The German Dax fell 0.18% at the open, while the Italian FTSE Mib slipped 0.09%. The Spanish Ibex 35 was unchanged and the French Cac 40 rose 0.14%. British markets are closed on Monday for a national holiday.
• This incident occurred as fears of a larger conflict in the Middle East pushed up oil prices.
• Brent crude oil prices rose 0.86% to $79.70 by 8:10 a.m. London time, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 0.88% higher at $75.49 a barrel.

LONDON — European stock markets opened mixed on Monday as traders digested rising tensions in the Middle East following attacks by both Israel and Hezbollah over the weekend.

The German Dax fell 0.18% at the open, while the Italian FTSE Mib slipped 0.09%. The Spanish Ibex 35 was unchanged and the French Cac 40 rose 0.14%. British markets are closed on Monday for a national holiday.

This came as fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East pushed up oil prices. Over the weekend, more than 100 Israeli warplanes attacked Lebanese targets and the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired more than 320 rockets at Israel.

Brent crude oil prices rose 0.86% to $79.70 by 8:10 a.m. London time, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 0.88% higher at $75.49 a barrel.

“While market expectations are that the Iranian attack will hurt Israel without sparking a major regional conflict, Israel’s response will be equally important. And Israel’s response could include an attack on Iran’s oil stockpiles and related infrastructure, putting 3 to 4 percent of global oil supplies at risk,” Vivek Dhar, mining and energy commodities strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, told CNBC.

Last week, the pan-European Stoxx 600 followed the upward trend of the US markets and ended the week clearly in positive territory with an increase of 1.3 percent.

There was little change in U.S. stock futures on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted last week that interest rate cuts were imminent. Although he did not say specifically when the first cut might come, CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows traders unanimously expecting a cut at the Fed’s next meeting on Sept. 18.

In the Asia-Pacific region, market performance was mixed: Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.99% and China’s CSI 300 index lost 0.15%.

On the European calendar, investors will follow the minutes of the Swedish Riksbank and the Ifo business climate data.

Later in the week, eurozone inflation data will be released on Friday, and will be closely watched for any indication as to whether the European Central Bank will cut interest rates further next month.

— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.