European Stocks Pare Some Losses, Close On Mixed Note

After a weak start and a subsequent long spell fairly deep down in negative territory, European stocks staged a good recovery around late afternoon on Thursday. A few markets even managed to move above the flat line by the time the market ended.

The early weakness was due to renewed concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump’s primetime address Wednesday night. Trump reiterated his claim that the war will be over “very shortly” but also said the U.S. is going to hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” bringing the country “back to the stone ages where they belong.”