BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were sharply lower on Wednesday after U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian tankers and Tehran responded with missile strikes on Jordan, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
Traders also looked ahead to Thursday's European Central Bank meeting, with a 25-basis points rate hike fully priced in.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.9 percent to 644.48 after finishing marginally lower on Tuesday.
The German DAX lost 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 tumbled over 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent.
Energy giants BP Plc, Shell and TotalEnergies all rose about 1 percent as Brent crude prices jumped above $100 a barrel amid renewed tensions in the Gulf region and concerns about further disruptions to global oil supplies.
Swiss building materials supplier Holcim fell about 1 percent after investing in Cloud Cycle, a U.K.-based startup that turns ready-mix concrete operations into a real-time data-driven system.
Zara owner Inditex tumbled 3.3 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
France's Vallourec, a provider of tubular solutions for the oil and gas industry, fell about 1 percent despite signing an agreement with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco for the supply of Oil Country Tubular Goods pipes.
Victrex, a British-based supplier of high-performance polymers, soared 16 percent after lifting its full-year pre-tax profit guidance and appointing an interim CFO.
Energean, an international hydrocarbon exploration and production company, rallied 3.5 percent as it posted a 45 percent jump in first-half profit.
Wealth and investment firm Aberdeen rose over 2 percent after naming insurance veteran Torbjorn Magnusson as its new chair.
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