European stocks on Monday slumped in a broad-based decline that was the worst in more than a month over worries about increasing Middle East tensions.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -1.17% fell 1.21% to 413.27, the worst drop since the 1.58% fall on Dec. 2.
Banks including HSBC Holdings HSBA, -1.90%, pharmaceutical companies such as Roche ROG, -1.14% and insurers including Allianz ALV, -1.46% led the decline, which hit pretty much every stock outside of the energy sector.
John Wood Group WG, +4.99%, an Aberdeen-based energy services group, rallied 4.8%, and GALP Energia GALP, +3.16%, a Portuguese natural gas supplier, rose 3.8% as Brent crude-oil futures BRN00, +1.31% reached as high as $70.74.
Over the weekend, Iran and the U.S. exchanged threats, following the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Iran has vowed retaliation, while U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iranian cultural sites are fair game for the U.S. military and threatened sanctions against Iraq if it expelled American troops.
The German DAX DAX, -1.63% skidded 1.82% to 12979, the French CAC 40 PX1, -1.20% tumbled 1.25% to 5968.87 and the U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, -0.98% declined 0.97% to 7548.55.
U.S. stock futures ES00, -0.58% were also lower.
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