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(Sharecast News) - European shares opened higher on Monday and oil slumped after US President Donald Trump once again pulled back from threats to bomb Iran, saying talks with Tehran would take place today.
The benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.43% at 652 at 1200 BST with most major bourses higher.
Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman on opening a safe route through the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping. The combined news sent oil plunging, with Brent crude down 5% to $83 a barrel.
Trump claimed he had pulled his threatened attacks at the behest of Gulf states and also, without any credible evidence, said Iran had missiles that could strike the US.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had decided to pause ordering new strikes against Iran at the urging of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The president has repeatedly issued threats over a weekend that he would escalate the war, only to pull back before markets open, creating volatility in the process.
However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a weekly press briefing on Monday that Iran is not currently holding any talks with the US, contradicting Trump.
Baghaei said that there were no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one, and that Iran's current focus was on negotiations with Oman over the strait of Hormuz.
Elsewhere, investors were assessing the combined US and Japanese government intervention to prop up the yen.
In equity news, oil stocks fell and leisure shares rose on hopes of peace talks resuming.
AstraZeneca slumped on a report of $400bn tie-up talks with Bristol Myers Squibb.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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