Europe open: Stocks in the red after Belgium explosions

European stocks fell in early trade, with travel and leisure issues under pressure following explosions at Zaventem airport in Brussels which have left several people dead and others injured.

At 0900 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were all 1.1% lower.

The mood was sombre as market participants took in news of the events in Brussels. Belgian broadcaster RTBF, citing a hospital source, said up to 10 people died and 30 were wounded in the explosions.

There were also reports of an explosion at Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, close to the city’s EU institutions. The entire metro system has now been shut down and the Belgian capital is on its highest state of terror alert.

The explosions came just days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in the November terror attacks that killed 130 people in Paris.

Safe haven assets rose in response, with the yen, gold and government bonds all making gains, while the Stoxx 600 travel & leisure index slid 2.4%.

Gold on Comex was up 1.1% to $1,258.30 an ounce while the yield on the 10-year German Bund was four basis points lower. Yields move inversely to prices.

The yen was 0.5% firmer against the dollar and 0.9% stronger versus the euro.

“Investors will be fearful of the knock-on to European traveller sentiment which was clearly dented in the wake of the Parisian attacks last November (as well as those in Tunisia and Egypt),” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

“It's always a sad day when terrorism has to be the driver to kick markets from their state of calm. It’s also a sign of times when the market response is - in relative terms - so muted. Investors have had to develop a thick skin for such horrific events over the years and their encouraging defiance may again result in near-term recovery for the stocks affected.”

Oil prices were in the red. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.5% to $41.32 a barrel and Brent crude was off 0.6% at $41.30.

A senior OPEC delegate has said Saudi Arabia was prepared to sign up to an oil output freeze next month even if Iran does not take part.

In corporate news, Thomas Cook shares were sharply lower after the holiday operator said it was “operating in a volatile market environment” and cautioned that summer bookings will be below the previous year following terrorist attacks in Turkey and Egypt.

Anglo American slipped after announcing the successful completion of its bond buyback programme.