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European Stocks Tumble in Wednesday Trading as Intensified Middle East Conflict Drives Up Oil Prices

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The European stock markets fell sharply in Wednesday trading with intensified fighting between the US and Iran driving up the price of oil to more than $100 a barrel, and as investors look ahead to the European Central Bank's rate decision on Thursday.

The Stoxx Europe dropped 1.5%, Germany's DAX fell 1.7%, the FTSE 100 lost 1.3%, France's CAC shed 1.9%, and the Swiss Market Index declined 1.8%.

In corporate news, BP has attracted interest from several potential buyers for its North Sea operations, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Potential suitors include Equinor and Shell joint venture Adura, and TotalEnergies-backed NEO Next+, the unnamed sources told the news outlet. EnQuest, Harbour Energy, Ithaca Energy, Serica Energy, and Var Energi are among other potential bidders that may evaluate the assets, Bloomberg reported.

BP, EnQuest, Harbour Energy, Ithaca, Serica, and Var Energi didn't immediately respond to' requests for comment.

Shares of BP and Shell gained 0.7% and 0.2% respectively in London, while TotalEnergies gained 0.6% in Paris, and Equinor advanced 4.2% in Oslo.

Stellantis' Chrysler is recalling 201,976 Jeep vehicles in the US because a software error may prevent the tire pressure monitoring system from detecting low tire pressure or turning on the warning light, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday.

The regulator said the recall covers certain Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee L, Grand Cherokee 4xe, Grand Wagoneer, Wagoneer L, Grand Wagoneer L, Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer L PHEV vehicles.

NHTSA said the issue increases crash risk, resulting in the vehicles not meeting federal tire-pressure monitoring requirements.

Shares of Stellantis closed 2.1% lower in Paris.

Barclays is leading a group of lenders preparing a 2.4 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) financing package to support Lone Star Funds' acquisition of industrial-products manufacturer ContiTech, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The financing is expected to include a 1.9 billion-euro term loan and a 500 million-euro high-yield bond, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Barclays declined to comment when contacted by.

Shares of Barclays dropped 2.2% in London.

HSBC is shutting down its transaction services operations in Germany, leading to more than 300 job cuts, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a company spokesperson.

The roles will be eliminated by 2028, with the majority impacting HSBC Transaction Services and roughly 20 affecting HSBC Service Company Germany, the news outlet reported.

HSBC did not immediately respond to' request for comment.

Shares of the British lender decreased 1.8% in London.

UBS disclosed on Wednesday that it has doubled the size of its previously announced debt buyback tender offer to $4 billion from $2 billion.

The offers cover six series of outstanding senior notes, including 9.016% and 6.537% notes due 2033, 7.750% notes due 2029, 3.869% and 2.125% notes due 2029, and 4.194% notes due 2031, according to UBS.

Shares of the Swiss bank fell 1% in Zurich.

BHP's BHP Brasil unit said Wednesday that more than 1.2 billion Brazilian reais ($235.8 million) in new funds has been transferred under the new Rio Doce agreement, marking progress in reparations.

The new funds include 243 million reais for healthcare, 850 million reais for environmental conservation and 87.6 million reais for economic development in Mariana.

Shares of the mining company lost 1.3% in London.

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Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMGN$INTC$NBIS$NVS$PLTR
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Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH
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Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$INTC$NBIS$NVS$PLTR