BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS, Aug 19 (Bernama-dpa-AFX) -- European stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday, weighed down by concerns about escalating tensions between Iran and the United States (US), elevated oil prices, and rising bond yields, reported dpa-AFX.
Oil prices climbed higher after a cargo vessel was reportedly struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday local time.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy-sponsored organisation, said on Tuesday that it had received a report of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz.
The 60-day West Asia ceasefire agreement has expired, and US President Donald Trump said that he is not interested in renewing the agreement with Iran and threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran has warned of a strong response to any fresh attacks, saying it is preparing to shift to a “fully offensive” military posture.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.69 per cent. Germany's DAX shed 0.8 per cent, and France's CAC 40 closed with a loss of 0.82 per cent, while the UK's FTSE 100 outperformed and edged up 0.07 per cent. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.13 per cent up.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden closed weak.
Iceland, Portugal and Russia ended higher, while Belgium, the Czech Republic and Turkey closed flat.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate in the UK remained stable in the three months to June.
The unemployment rate stood at 4.9 per cent in the June quarter, unchanged from the preceding period. The rate was seen at 4.8 per cent.
The number of vacancies decreased 6,000 to 707,000 in the three months to July.
Average earnings excluding bonus logged an annual increase of 3.5 per cent. Including bonus, earnings advanced 4.1 per cent from the last year.
In July, payroll employment decreased 94,000 from the previous year and by 13,000 on a monthly basis to 30.3 million, data showed.
A report from the European Economic Research (ZEW) said Germany's ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose 7.9 points to 34.2 in August, following a 15.8-point jump in July and comfortably beating market expectations of 30.
The reading marked the highest level since February, before the West Asia conflict weighed on global confidence, suggesting that Germany's reform package is beginning to support the economic outlook.
The assessment of the current situation also improved, with the index rising 16.5 points to -61.1, while inflation expectations dropped 13.1 points to 1.8.
-- BERNAMA-dpa-AFX