Europe's Stock Market Opens on a Cautious Note Amid Iran Tensions

European stocks opened weakly on Monday as escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf and an upcoming European Central Bank meeting kept investors cautious.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.1%, stuck near multi-week lows, as traders processed fresh geopolitical friction along one of the world's most critical maritime bottlenecks.

Major regional benchmarks struggled to gain momentum, with Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 trading in tight ranges as investors weighed higher energy input costs against persistent rate-hike expectations.

The military standoff pushed crude oil benchmarks up another 1% on Monday, building on a massive nearly 10% weekly surge that carried Brent crude firm past $90 a barrel.