2018.05.0821:20:00UTC+00European Markets End Mixed, Trump’s Decision on Iran Deal in Focus

European markets ended mixed on Tuesday, as investors await U.S. President Donald Trump's final decision on the Iran nuclear deals.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally around 0.1 percent higher, with most major European bourses in the red. The UK FTSE 100 index ended almost unchanged, Germany's Dax lost 0.29 percent of its aggregate value, while the French CAC-40 closed lower by 0.21 percent.

Contributing to that move were gains for Spanish stocks that left the IBEX 35 up 0.3 percent at 10,168.10. The biggest winner there was International Consolidated Airlines Group SA IAG, with shares up 3.3 percent as many European airline stocks rose as oil prices slid.

Investors took to the sidelines as they waited for U.S. President Donald Trump to announce his decision on whether the leave the Iran nuclear pact. If the U.S. withdraws from the deal, sanctions will likely be reimposed on Iran's oil exports, tightening global supply and causing ripple effects through markets.

The drop in oil prices pulled down shares of Europe's major oil companies, leaving the Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index down 1.4 percent. Among oil producers, shares of France's Total fell 1.8 percent and Spain's Repsol dropped 0.8 percent.

Shire finished near the top of the European benchmark, adding nearly five percent. Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical has struck a deal to buy the Irish drugmaker for £46 billion. The agreement ends a takeover battle that had seen Takeda make five offers for UK-listed Shire since late March.

Fellow drugmaker Lundbeck jumped to the top of the European benchmark after it posted stronger-than-expected earnings in the first three months of 2018. The Danish company said sales of its schizophrenia and depression drugs helped offset the generic competition of its older products. Shares were more than 8 percent higher by the end of trade.

Travel and leisure stocks were one of the few sectoral gainers, up 0.3 percent amid earnings news. British bookmaker William Hill was a decent performer after it posted its latest figures for the first 17 weeks of the year. The firm said Roma's shock defeat of Barcelona and an uptick in U.S. March Madness college basketball betting helped drive a 12 percent rise in profits. Its shares finished up 0.61 percent on the news.