Stocks making the biggest moves
Carnival Adventure arrives into Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia, on March 28, 2025.
Matt Blyth | Getty Images
We’re around halfway through the final session of the week, and the pan-European Stoxx 600 is still down by around 0.9%.
Every sector barring oil and gas remains in the red, with travel and leisure stocks leading losses on a 2.6% decline.
Major bourses are all firmly in negative territory, with Germany’s DAX taking the biggest hit with a 1.5% fall.
Looking at individual stocks, British Airways owner IAG has shed 4.8% to tumble toward the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index, while cruise operator Carnival‘s London-listed shares were down 4.2% and digital car sales firm Auto1 Group shed 6%.
At the top of the pan-European index is oil tanker giant Frontline, which was last seen trading 8.2% higher as oil prices surge.
— Chloe Taylor
Oil rally will hit airlines, analyst says
“Given the significant rally in oil prices due to the heightened geopolitical risk in the Middle East after the Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, airline shares have one direction to go, which is down as jet fuel prices are rising in tandem with crude oil,” Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM, told CNBC on Friday.
Oil prices surged on Friday, as Israel’s airstrikes on Iran sparked concerns about possible supply constraints.
— Chloe Taylor
Watch: U.S. ‘will enter the war’ if Iranian retaliation hits American bases, Signum Global Advisors says
Charles Myers, founder and chairman of Signum Global Advisors, has warned that the U.S. will enter the conflict between Israel and Iran if any U.S. military bases are hit.
“Israel did go somewhat rogue and against President Trump by launching this strike,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.
“From here, I think what really matters is the response from Iran. The ball is in their court, if it is as limited as it has been in the last two times, hit just on Israel, this will deescalate very quickly. If they hit one U.S. base, the United States will enter the war.”
— Chloe Taylor
Dollar rises as investors seek safety
The dollar index — which measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of major rivals — was up 0.2% by 4 a.m. ET on Friday, as investors fled risk-on assets and sought safety.
Air France KLM shares fall as airline suspends Tel Aviv route
Embraer 190 KLM aircraft at Fiumicino International Airport, Rome, May 7, 2021.
Massimo Insabato | Mondadori Portfolio | Getty Images
Shares of Air France KLM were last seen trading 4.6% lower.
The airline on Friday suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv, amid escalating military action between Israel and Iran.
“Following the closure of Israeli airspace, the airline has suspended its flights to/from Tel Aviv until further notice,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement translated by Google.
“Commercial measures are in place, allowing customers with reservations for flights to/from Tel Aviv scheduled between June 13 and June 17 inclusive to postpone or cancel their trip free of charge … The airline is constantly monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation in the territories served and overflown by its aircraft to ensure the highest level of flight safety and security.”
— Chloe Taylor
Airline stocks extend losses; Wizz Air down 4.8%
An Wizz Air Malta Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Airline stocks are selling off this morning.
Shares of Wizz Air were last seen 4.8% lower, after the company suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv, and said it would reroute planes set to cross the airspace involved in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
“Due to the escalating situation in the Middle East, and several closed airspaces in the region, Wizz Air has decided to suspend its operations to Tel Aviv as of this morning and reroute all of its flights (where possible) that were due to overfly the affected airspaces for the next 72 hours,” a spokesperson for the Hungarian budget carrier said in a statement on Friday.
Norway’s Norse Atlantic, down 4.2%, British Airways owner IAG, down 3.8%, and Finnair, down 3.7%, are also among those experiencing the biggest losses in the sector.
European airline stocks are also still reeling from Thursday’s fatal Air India crash, which sent the sector 3.4% lower in yesterday’s session.
— Chloe Taylor
Iran launches 100 drones at Israel in response to missile attack as markets reel
Iran launched more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory Friday morning after Israel’s overnight missile strike on the country killed at least three of its senior military leaders.
“We can now confirm that the Chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Commander of the IRGC and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said.
“Iran launched approximately 100 UAVs towards Israeli territory, which we are working to intercept.”
— Natasha Turak
Dollar rises as investors seek safety
The dollar index — which measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of major rivals — was up 0.2% by 9 a.m. London time on Friday, as investors fled risk-on assets and sought safety.
European stocks open lower
It’s about 20 minutes since the opening bell, and European shares are selling off as investors react to Israel’s strikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday morning.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last seen trading 1% lower, with all sectors except oil and gas in negative territory.
Oil prices surged on Friday after the escalation in the Middle East sparked concerns about supply.
Germany’s DAX was down 1.4% in early trade, while the French CAC 40 was 1.1% lower and London’s FTSE 100 — coming off of a record high — was down 0.5%.
— Chloe Taylor
Safe haven rush begins after Israel strikes Iran
Investors fled to safe-haven assets Friday after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iran marked a major escalation of conflict in the region.
The scale of the attack, which Israel said was targeting Iran’s nuclear program, took markets by surprise, pushing up prices of assets thought to offer protection in times of heightened volatility.
“The news has led to significant fears about an escalation and a wider regional conflict,” Deutsche Bank strategists said in a note early Friday. “The effects of the attack have cascaded across global markets, with a strong risk-off move for several asset classes.”
— Katrina Bishop
How markets outside of Europe are moving
Oil prices surge on heels of Israeli strikes, set for largest single-day gains in about five years
Crude oil futures jumped as much as 13% Thursday evening after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran without U.S. support.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate was last up 8.23% at $73.65 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent surged 7.96% to $74.88 per barrel, setting them on course for their largest single-day gains since 2020.
Israel launched a “targeted military operation” against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address. Israel hit Iran’s main enrichment site at Natanz, its leading nuclear scientists, and struck the heart of its ballistic missile program, Netanyahu said.
— Spencer Kimball, Lee Ying Shan
Opening calls
Good morning from London.
European shares look set to follow global stocks lower today, as investors monitor an escalating situation in the Middle East.
Israel launched a series of airstrikes in Iran in the early hours of Friday morning, killing the chief of the Iranian Armed Forces as well as two of the country’s leading nuclear scientists.
Futures ties to the pan-European Stoxx 600 were last seen 1.2% lower, while those linked to the German DAX index are down 1.7%.
The FTSE 100, which closed at a record high on Thursday, also looks set to move lower, with futures tied to the index down by 0.5%.
— Chloe Taylor
