Euro Stocks Slide Amid Oil Price Surge and Inflation Fears

European stocks dipped on Tuesday as rising oil prices fueled inflation concerns and worries about potential disruptions to supplies due to a Middle East war. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6% to 646.1 points, with Germany's DAX shedding 0.6%, London's FTSE losing 0.4%, and France's CAC 40 slipping 0.5%. The subdued session followed a relatively quiet day on Monday due to a U.S. public holiday.

The biggest decliner in the STOXX 600 was Novartis, down 10.2% after announcing disappointing test results for its del-desiran drug for myotonic dystrophy. This setback comes on the heels of another experimental cholesterol drug, pelacarsen, failing in a late-stage trial.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at Stone-X, noted that while Novartis has had a solid year so far, 'it's creating a level of disappointment' for the company's shares. Banking stocks also took a hit, falling 1.3% as investors grow concerned about a potential recessionary outlook for the eurozone.