FX.co ★ European Stocks Lower, Novartis Plunges

European equities declined on Tuesday, with both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 slipping 0.3% after a muted trading session on Monday. Oil prices extended their advance as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remained high. At the same time, natural gas prices hovered near their highest levels in more than three years, intensifying inflationary pressures and reinforcing expectations that further monetary-policy tightening may be required. The ECB is widely anticipated to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points this week.

Novartis shares dropped nearly 9%, making the company the worst performer on the STOXX 600, after its drug pelacarsen failed to reduce cardiovascular events despite successfully lowering harmful cholesterol levels. The outcome casts doubt on one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most closely watched drug development races. Infineon fell 2.6%, while ASML eased 0.7% even though it secured commitments from major chipmakers, including Samsung and TSMC, to adopt its latest semiconductor manufacturing equipment.