European stocks opened lower as Iran once again blocked the Strait of Hormuz and the United States seized an Iranian cargo vessel, dampening market sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 6.92 points, or 1.1%, to 619.66. The UK's FTSE 100 index dropped 64 points, or 0.6%, to 10,603; France's CAC 40 index declined 94 points, or 1.1%, to 8,330; Germany's DAX index slid 385 points, or 1.6%, to 24,316; Spain's IBEX 35 index fell 218 points, or 1.2%, to 18,265; and Italy's FTSE MIB index lost 693 points, or 1.4%, to 48,175.

Among individual stocks, Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa fell 3.5% and 4.2%, respectively, while British Airways parent IAG dropped 3.2% and cruise operator Carnival declined 3.3%. Mining stocks Antofagasta and Fresnillo fell 5% and 3%, respectively. Software company SAP dropped 3.9%, and automaker Stellantis fell 3.1%. Oil majors Equinor, BP and Eni rose between 3.3% and 4.5%, while Shell gained 2.5%.

In US stock futures, DJIA futures fell 353 points, or 0.7%, to 49,288; S&P 500 futures declined 46 points, or 0.7%, to 7,114; and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 181 points, or 0.7%, to 26,644. In Asia-Pacific markets, the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets rose 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively; Hong Kong stocks gained 0.8%; Taiwan stocks rose 0.4% and hit an intraday record high; Japan and South Korea markets advanced 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively; Australia and New Zealand markets each edged up less than 0.1%; India was recently up 0.2%; and Singapore was marginally higher by less than 0.1%. (fc/u)

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