European markets close mixed on Middle East tensions; defense stocks rally

LONDON — European stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as investors assessed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and parsed fresh unemployment data in the euro zone.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended with little change for the session, as sectors and major bourses pointed in opposite directions.

Utilities were the biggest laggards, down 1.8%, while oil and gas stocks added 1.5% on the prospect of supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Looking at individual stock moves, defense companies ticked higher on the rising conflict risks. Swedish defense and security company Saab rose 2.5%, while Rheinmetall, BAE Systems and Thales all traded up over 1%.

Shares of British sports retailer JD Sports closed around 6% lower, meanwhile, even as the company reported expectation-beating revenues and profits for the first half. It comes as revenues at Nike, whose products it sells, fell short on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks were flat on Wednesday after a negative start to the trading month.

Iran on Tuesday launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel in retaliation for its recent killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon.

The attack came hot on the heels of Israel‘s deployment of ground forces into south Lebanon, escalating its offensive on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Oil prices spiked following the news, while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, topped 20 at its high of the day.

International benchmark Brent crude futures with December expiry extended gains on Wednesday, trading over 0.7% higher at $74.03 per barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.7% to trade at $70.36.

Mainland China markets were closed Wednesday for the Golden Week holiday and will remain closed for the rest of the week. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded more than 6% higher, signaling more optimism about Beijing’s stimulus policies.

Back in Europe, unemployment across the euro zone held steady on the month at a record-low 6.4% in August, Eurostat data showed Wednesday.

— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.