European stocks rise near 6-week high, while US-Iran tensions curb gains

European stocks rose slightly on Friday, extending their gains for a the fourth straight session, approaching the six-week high recorded earlier in yesterday's session, while gains remain limited due to concerns over the rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

As of 11:05 GMT, Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1% and the index ended yesterday's session higher by 0.4%, its third consecutive daily gain, hitting its highest level in six weeks, amid hopes that global central banks will start easing monetary policies to support the economy, which is facing recession risks.

Stoxx Europe rose on Friday morning at the last session of the week to continue its gains for the fourth session in a row, approaching the six-week high, with most of the major bourses and sectors in the positive region.

The energy sector led the gainers in Europe with a gain of more than 1%, taking advantage of the rise in oil prices in the global market.

While the European stocks gains are being curbed by fears of the rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, after the New York Times reported that US President Donald Trump had agreed to order military strikes on Iranian targets, but quickly retracted the orders.

The United States said on Thursday an Iranian missile had shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz, which is a shipping route through which much of the world's oil supplies pass, and Iran said the drone was on its territory.

The risk of a conflict between Washington and Tehran has increased since the decision of the administration of President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement of 2015.

The S&P 500 futures fell more than 0.3%. while the index ended yesterday's session on Wall Street higher by 0.95%, its fourth daily gain in a row, hitting a seven-week high on US interest rate cut bets.

Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.1%. while in France, the CAC 40 index rose 0.1%. with London's FTSE 100 adding 0.2%.

In Germany, the DAX index remained unchanged, after recording a nine-month high in the previous session.