BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks may drift lower at open on Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid ongoing mediation efforts in the Middle East to revive a fragile ceasefire.
Crude oil prices eased from one-month highs after reports suggested that diplomatic efforts are underway to end hostilities between the United States and Iran.
Axios reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is nearing a decision between a 10-day ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and a full-scale coordinated U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran.
That said, Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman early today as the United States military conducted its tenth consecutive night of strikes on the country.
Two other ships were attacked in the Strait over the last 24 hours, with Iran's parliamentary Revolutionary Guard claiming those assaults.
Meanwhile, in a major escalation of trade tensions between the North American neighbors, Trump signed orders on Monday to impose new 50 percent tariffs on many Canadian goods, citing discrimination against American exports of automobiles, alcoholic beverages and dairy products.
The latest tariffs mark another significant step in the Trump administration's use of trade measures to pursue its America First economic agenda.
Asian markets were mixed as chip stocks recovered ahead of earnings from major U.S. technology companies this week.
Tesla and Alphabet are scheduled to publish their quarterly results on Wednesday, followed by Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon next week.
The dollar hovered near a one-week high while Brent crude futures slipped below $89 a barrel amid hopes of a new U.S.-Iran ceasefire that could ease worries over supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Gold traded up over 1 percent at $4,052 an ounce after reclaiming the psychologically important $4,000-an-ounce level on Monday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower for a third consecutive session as Treasury yields surged on worries about the outlook for inflation and interest rates amid the escalating Middle East conflict.
Oil prices surged to one-month highs in volatile trading as Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and U.S. President Trump warned Iran that it would pay 'many times over' for every American soldier killed.
The narrower Dow dipped 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower.
European stocks ended mixed in cautious trading on Monday after Iran said diplomatic exchanges with the United States were ongoing.
The pan-European STOXX 600 declined 0.3 percent. France's CAC 40 and the German DAX finished marginally higher while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.7 percent as Andy Burnham took office as the new Prime Minister.
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