Europe open: Stoxx down on weak Wall St, Asia; Vistry slumps 30%

European shares opened sharply lower on Tuesday after downbeat sessions in the US and Asia as investors fretted over the Middle East conflict.

The pan-regional Stoxx was down 1% at 514.30 with all major bourses in the red.

US shares fell sharply on Monday with the Dow pulling back from record highs as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the third-quarter earnings season, while oil prices surged on the back of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.94% to 41,954.24, with just five of the index's 30 constituents finishing in positive territory. The benchmark surged to a new closing high of 42,352.75 on Friday following a bumper jobs report for September, which showed that the American economy created significantly more jobs than expected.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dropped 0.96% while the Nasdaq fell 1.18%. In Asia, markets were mixed, with China’s stimulus-fuelled rally continuing, but other markets tracking the US.

In economic news, German industrial production increased more than expected in August, driven by a “significant” jump in the auto industry, according to official data published on Tuesday.

Production was up 2.9% month on month, the federal statistics office Destatis said. Analysts had expected a 0.8% rise.

In equities, UK house builder Vistry slumped by a third as it slashed its full year profit forecast on revised costs.

Imperial Brands gained after beefing up its shareholder returns programme by £400m and confirming it finished the fiscal year with in-line results, with growth in both tobacco and next generation products (NGP).

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com