Europe's STOXX drops to 1-month low on geopolitical woes; L'Oreal shines

European stocks dropped on Friday to their lowest levels in more than one month after a ramp-up in Middle East conflict spooked investors across the globe, while shares of L'Oreal rose as the French cosmetic giant trounced estimates for quarterly sales. The continent-wide STOXX 600 was down 0.6%, as of 0714 GMT, and has lost 1.6% so far this week.

European stocks dropped on Friday to their lowest levels in more than one month after a ramp-up in Middle East conflict spooked investors across the globe, while shares of L'Oreal rose as the French cosmetic giant trounced estimates for quarterly sales.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 was down 0.6%, as of 0714 GMT, and has lost 1.6% so far this week. The benchmark index was on track for its biggest weekly drop since last October, if losses hold. Indexes across major European economies such as Germany , France, Italy and Spain dropped between 0.6% and 0.9%.

Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran kept investors on edge on concerns that a spike in commodity prices could fuel inflation and push back a highly anticipated June interest rate cut by the European Central Bank. Offsetting the glum mood, shares in L'Oreal rose 5.1% after the beauty company posted a nearly 10% rise in first-quarter sales on a like-for-like basis.

The broader personal & household goods sector gained 0.4%. Shares of Sodexo rose 3.6% after the food caterer forecast its 2024 organic revenue growth at the top of its 6%-8% range and also posted half-year sales broadly in line with estimates.

 

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