European stocks are down as concerns over the course of the return to the forefront affect global markets.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 is down 1.29% at 589.96 points. The British FTSE 100 in London loses 1.60%. In Germany, the DAX is down 0.66%, the French CAC 40 is down 1.35%, while in the European South, the Italian FTSE MIB loses 1.55% and the Spanish IBEX 35 is down 1.56%.

In a statement to the American people on Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump said he expects the war to last another two to three weeks, during which time US forces will hit Iran “extremely hard.”

US stock futures fell sharply towards the end of Trump’s speech, reversing the bullish sentiment that had prevailed in the Wall Street session on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, data showed a significantly lower opening for New York stocks.

A similar picture was recorded in urban markets, which also turned negative as investors took stock of the latest developments.

In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 5.28%, recording the biggest losses in the region, while the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 6.13%, despite both having started the session up more than 1%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell 2.5% after Trump’s speech, while the broader Topix index lost 1.7%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200, although the index started positively, closed down 1.06% at 8,579.5 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 1.41%, while in mainland China the CSI 300 index fell 1.35%.

In India, the Nifty 50 index posted a loss of 2.03%, while in Shanghai the key index fell 1.16%.

oil prices surged after the announcement, with Brent – the international benchmark – rising more than 6% to $107.98 per barrel.