
European stocks opened lower on Friday morning, defying pre-market expectations of gains, as investors remained sceptical about the prospects for a ceasefire in the Iran war.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1.14%, Germany's DAX slipped 1.33%, France's CAC 40 shed 0.82%, and the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.48% at 13:00 CET.