Europe midday: Shares slide into red as investors fret over Iran-Israel ceasefire

(Sharecast News) - European shares had slipped into the red on Wednesday as investors fretted over the durability of the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.27% to 538.94, giving up morning gains, with all major bourses in the red. Germany's DAX fell 0.59% and France's CAC 40 declined 0.59%.

Israel and Iran agreed to stop attacks after the US jumped into their 12-day war and bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, with President Donald Trump saying they had been "obliterated". However, early reports from an initial intelligence assessment of the damage by Washington suggested this was not the case.

"Optimism about the fragile ceasefire holding between Iran and Israel has bubbled through markets, lifting equities, but more doubts are now creeping in about the truce holding," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"Wall Street rose in a relief wave, pushing the S&P 500 close to record highs. Sentiment has held up in Asia and European indices largely look set for a positive start to trading."

"Nevertheless, a little more uncertainty is seeping in. A leaked report from US intelligence casting doubt on the effectiveness of the US strikes in crippling Tehran's nuclear capabilities, has led to some worries that military action could resume."

Oil prices gained on the instability, with Brent crude up 1.76% to $68.32 a barrel.

Eyes were also on the annual NATO summit in the Netherlands as governments discussed ramping up weapons spending amid global threats to defence and energy security from Russia and China.

In equity news, British defence and nuclear engineer Babcock jumped 12% after lifting medium-term margin targets as a new global arms race gathered pace.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com