European equity markets were poised to open lower on Thursday, halting a three-session rebound as investors weighed conflicting signals over US–Iran ceasefire efforts. Washington insisted that peace talks remain in progress, while Tehran indicated it has no intention of engaging in direct negotiations with the US. Iran also said it would reject a US ceasefire proposal and instead put forward a five-point plan that would grant it control over the Strait of Hormuz.
In Europe, attention will turn to Germany’s GfK consumer sentiment survey, as well as business and consumer confidence data from France and Italy. In premarket trading, futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 were down 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
