The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.4% lower at 633.77

European stocks declined again on Tuesday, falling to their lowest in three months, as a bond sell-off and rising oil prices weighed on risk appetite.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.4% lower at 633.77. This was the fourth day of losses in the past five days for the Stoxx 600, pushing the benchmark to its lowest closing price since 12 June.

Rapidly rising global yields amid surging energy prices and rate hike expectations keep stock markets under the cosh, said Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at IG. Mounting inflation risks and growing fiscal concerns contribute to risk-off sentiment ahead of Wednesday’s near-certain 25 basis point US Fed rate hike.

Brent crude was 2.2% higher at $108.03 a barrel by the close in Europe, its highest settlement price since 19 May, as threats to Saudi exports grew after increasing attacks by Houthis on Red Sea facilities.

In economic news, German investor sentiment improved less than expected in September, according to a survey by the ZEW Centre for European Economic Research. The ZEW economic expectations index ticked up to 34.7 from 34.2 in August, but this was below expectations for a reading of 40.0. The current conditions index rose to -47.1 in September from -61.1 the month before.

The eurozone trade surplus increased to €14.2 billion ($16.40 billion), up from €7.3 billion ($8.43 billion) in June and €10.7 billion ($12.36 billion) a year earlier, Eurostat reported. This was the highest since October 2025 and well above the €3.7 billion ($4.27 billion) expected by economists.

Sentiment was also still weak in the tech sector after comments from Anthropic boss Dario Amodei at the weekend, who called for the pace of AI development to slow down due to “serious” risks associated with the rapid pace of advancements.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman also confirmed the company would not pursue a stock‑market listing this year, calling an IPO “ill‑advised” just a month after CFO Sarah Friar suggested the group would go public by 2027 at the latest.