European shares fall amid fears of potential US involvement in Middle East conflict

European shares dropped to their lowest level in over a month on Thursday as the Middle East conflict escalated and fears grew over potential US involvement, Reuters reports.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell for a third straight session, dropping 0.8% to its lowest level since May 9. Trading activity remained subdued due to a US market holiday. German equities were among the hardest hit, with the DAX down 1.12%, the MDAX losing 1.80%, and the TecDAX declining 0.81%, according to Investing.com.

The German equity market faced headwinds from declining Construction, Retail, and Software sectors. Top performers included Sartorius (+2.72%), Siemens Healthineers (+0.79%), and Deutsche Telekom (+0.23%), while Zalando (-4.36%), Heidelberg Materials (-2.61%), and Adidas (-2.10%) dragged on the index, says the website.

As noted by Investing.com, market sentiment remained pessimistic on the Frankfurt exchange, with declining stocks outnumbering advancers by 435 to 142. The DAX volatility index hit a one-month high of 23.58.