After threatening to seize Iranian oil sites yesterday, Donald Trump has ultimately decided against launching new strikes on Tehran. The U.S. President even claimed that Washington and Iran have reached a framework agreement, which could be signed in Europe as early as this weekend.

'In another reversal, President Trump canceled planned military strikes against Iran and stated that a deal could be signed as early as this weekend, triggering a sharp reversal across all asset classes,' noted analysts at Saxo.

According to the firm, markets quickly priced in a reduction of the geopolitical risk premium, leading to a marked decline in oil prices, gains in equities and gold, a softening of bond yields, and a weakening of the dollar.

However, strategists at the Danish bank are urging caution. 'After more than thirty similar announcements over the past few months, investors are becoming increasingly wary of taking these statements at face value,' they observed.

They also pointed out that Tehran's reaction remains the deciding factor. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday that authorities had not yet approved the text of a potential agreement with the U.S., citing an anonymous source, while several sticking points reportedly remain in the negotiations.

Stocks on the Move

As a result, crude oil prices have fallen by more than 2%, with Brent crude returning to around $86.70 per barrel, weighing on energy sector stocks. In Paris, TotalEnergies is down more than 4%, while Maurel & Prom has retreated nearly 6%. In London, Shell and BP are also trading significantly lower.

Conversely, stocks most sensitive to lower energy costs and an improving economic outlook are benefiting from the renewed optimism. Air France-KLM has surged more than 9%, leading the SBF 120.

Elsewhere, it is a more difficult session for Exail Technologies, which is tumbling 16%. The civil and military robotics specialist is in a dispute with Intermediate Capital Group regarding the terms of the British fund's exit from its subsidiary, Exail Holding. This situation could increase the group's refinancing needs.

Adyen is among the top performers on the Euro Stoxx 50. The Dutch fintech firm is up nearly 5% after announcing a definitive agreement to acquire the enterprise billing platform Orb for $335m.

Following its quarterly review of the CAC index family, Euronext announced that Abivax, Ipsen, and Soitec will join the CAC Next 20 and CAC Large 60 indices, replacing ADP, Gecina, and Valeo. Simultaneously, Maurel & Prom and Mersen will join the SBF 120, while Elior Group and Nexity will exit. These changes will take effect after the market close on June 19.

On the macroeconomic front, French inflation accelerated to 2.4% year-on-year in May, according to final data published by Insee. In April, consumer price growth stood at 2.2%.

The British economy contracted by 0.1% in April, marking its first monthly decline since last August.

Investors will remain attentive to the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for June in the U.S., which is set to be released at 4:00 p.m.

In the foreign exchange market, the euro is up 0.07% at $1.1583.