European shares edged lower on Thursday while oil prices climbed, following a report that the U.S. was considering fresh military action against Iran, while investors braced for decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) eased 0.2%, as of 0836 GMT, on track for monthly losses. Regional bourses mirrored the move, with Germany's DAX (.GDAX) and France's CAC 40 index (.FCHI) down 0.2% and 1.2%, respectively.
Data in Spain showed the country's economic growth eased to 0.6% in the first quarter.
Markets await policy decisions from the ECB and BoE, due later in the day, after the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish tone sent Treasury yields spiking and weighed on global bonds.
"When you look at the scenarios that the ECB published after the last meeting and if you look at where we are currently trading in energy markets, the market is now basically trading closer to the ECB's adverse scenario," said Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank.
"In that adverse scenario, it is also more likely that the ECB would have to take some form of action in the short to medium term."
Both central banks are widely expected to keep rates on hold, with the ECB likely to signal a rate hike as soon as June to combat energy-driven inflationary pressures.
Amid earnings driven moves, financials weighed on the index, with the banking index (.SX7P) losing 1.1%. BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) fell 4.6% after its first-quarter results showed a revenue slip in investment banking.
Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) dropped 5.7% after quarterly results showed a slide in trading revenue.
Universal Music Group (UMG.AS) tumbled 7.1% after reporting lower first-quarter revenue due to a weaker dollar and said it would sell half of its equity stake in Spotify (SPOT.N). The media index (.SXMP) fell 2.4%.
Luxury stocks (.STXLUXP) were also weaker, down 1.1%. LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) slipped about 1.5% each.
Rolls-Royce (RR.L) jumped 6.2% after the British engineering company said it was sticking to its profit guidance.
