European stocks edged lower on Wednesday as renewed Middle East tensions continued to push oil prices higher, clouding the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
Brent crude futures jumped nearly 3 percent toward $99 a barrel after the U.S. military said it had thwarted Iranian missile attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and other locations in the region.
The OECD has sharply cut its global growth outlook and warned that a prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict could push global growth close to recession levels.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.