European stocks close mostly lower amid Middle East tensions

European stock markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 index fell 0.69% to 651.9 points.

Italy’s FTSE MIB posted the steepest decline among major eurozone markets, dropping 1.06% to 53,017.84.

Germany’s DAX lost 0.8% to finish at 26,128.36, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.82% to 8,509.36.

Spain’s IBEX 35 also fell 0.24% to 19,934.9.

Britain’s FTSE 100 bucked the broadly negative trend, rising 0.07% to 10,728.04.

Investors continued to monitor developments in the Middle East, where ongoing geopolitical tensions and higher oil prices have fueled concerns over inflation, economic growth, and corporate costs.

On the data front, economic sentiment among German institutional investors and analysts improved further in August.

The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index, which measures expectations for the German economy over the next six months, in July rose 7.9 points to 34.2 from 26.3, according to the Mannheim-based ZEW economic research institute.

The assessment of the euro area’s current economic situation improved 16.2 points but remained in negative territory at minus 21.5.

In the UK, the unemployment rate this April-June remained unchanged at 4.9%.