European stocks open higher as easing oil prices boost global sentiment

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People visit a lookout point in Greenwich Park, with the Canary Wharf financial district in the distance, during sunny weather but cold weather in London, U.K., on Jan. 2, 2026.

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European stock markets opened in positive territory on Friday**,** as easing oil prices lifted sentiment in global equity markets.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.4% shortly after the market open, with the German DAX leading with a 0.6% gain and London’s FTSE 100 up 0.2% in early trade, as the French CAC 40 added 0.2% and the Italian FTSE Mib notching 0.1%.

Capital markets are capping off a volatile week that saw a sell-off grip assets across the board following the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.

Stocks listed in Europe ended Thursday’s session broadly lower, as uncertainty around the conflict in the Middle East lingered and overwrote some tentative optimism that saw regional equities claw back some lost ground on Wednesday.

For the week, the pan-European Stoxx 600 is on course for a 4.6% loss – its deepest since last April, at the height of market fears about a U.S.-China trade war.

Oil prices eased on Friday morning, with global benchmark Brent crude rising less than 0.1% to settle at $85.47 a barrel by 8:05 a.m. in London (3:05 a.m. ET). West Texas Intermediate crude was 0.2% lower at $80.85 per barrel.

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Oil prices

It comes after the U.S. issued a 30-day waiver to India — the world’s third-largest oil importer — to resume purchases of Russian oil. Washington had earlier imposed 25% “penalty” tariffs on India for buying Russian crude, which were revoked last month.

The conflict between Iran and the U.S. enters its seventh day on Friday. In a press conference on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. had “only just begun to fight.”

“Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation,” he told reporters. “There’s no shortage of American will here … If you think you’ve seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power that’s still flowing, that’s still coming, that we’ll be able to project over Iran is at multiples of what it currently is right now when you add up our capabilities and those of the Israeli Defense Forces.”

Asian stocks rose on Friday as oil prices fell, easing concerns about global energy prices and a potential resultant spike in inflation. In the U.S., stock futures also edged higher ahead of the week’s final trading session.

European investors will also be monitoring economic data releases, including German factory orders, U.K. house prices and euro zone GDP figures on Friday. German airline Lufthansa will report earnings.