LONDON — European stocks were slightly higher Wednesday as investors attempted to look beyond escalating tensions in the Middle East and await fresh employment data out of the region.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.35% in opening trade, with the majority of sectors and major bourses moving in the green. Oil and gas stocks added 2.42% on the prospect of supply disruptions in the Middle East, while travel and leisure stocks dipped 0.25% as airlines diverted flights out of the region.
On the stock front, Defense companies ticked higher on the rising conflict risks, with Saab and BAE Systems adding 2.2%, while Thales and Rheinmetall both rose more than 1.3%.
The cautious uptick follows a negative start to the trading month on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq Composite shedding 1.5% and the S&P 500 losing 0.9%, after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel in retaliation for its recent killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon.
The attack came on the heels of Israel's deployment of ground forces into south Lebanon, escalating its offensive on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.
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