NEW YORK (CNBC) - European markets dipped Monday as investors assessed the impact of geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East.
The Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3% lower, with travel and leisure stocks down 2.4% and retail stocks dipping 1.9%. Oil and gas stocks were higher by 2.9% as crude oil prices surged.
Oil prices jumped 4% overnight and U.S. stocks were lower Monday as the violence adds geopolitical risk to already fragile markets dealing with inflation and surging interest rates.
Shares of oil and gas company Energean plummeted more than 20% after it announced that production, supply and work offshore would continue after the attack on Israel. The company said that the area where it operates, in the northern region of Israel, is not currently under attack.
Energean is listed on both London and Tel Aviv’s stock exchanges.
While Energean fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index, fuel-related worries hit shares of U.S. cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival and Royal Caribbean Group, which were each down between 4.1% and 6.2%.