European shares slip as Middle East tensions spook investors

Brent crude prices LCOc1 shot up 3% to $85 a barrel after the U.S. carried out a third straight night of strikes against Iran and President Donald Trump announced a blockade of Iranian shipping and a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The move is the latest complication that companies and investors will have to consider as they gauge the health of the economy and corporate outlook for the rest of the year, just weeks after a Mideast agreement seemed to end hostilities.

"The optimism that was there in markets has been given a nasty check because of the resumption of possibilities and the worry that this is going to be a replay of something like what we had in March," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group.

Ericsson tanked 8% after the Swedish telecom equipment maker's quarterly sales slightly missed estimates and it warned of rising component costs.