The price of oil has risen a few dollars, and a barrel of North Sea oil costs just over $98 late in the afternoon. This follows Iran's statement on Wednesday evening that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed again. The ceasefire in the Iran conflict is fragile.
Stock exchanges experienced a rebound after yesterday's rush. The Stockholm Stock Exchange's broad OMXS index ended down 0.4 percent. Among the heavyweights, truck giant Volvo fell the most, down 3.1 percent - largely because the stock is trading ex-dividend after the AGM.
At the same time, market interest rates rose.
There was also a subdued mood in Europe, where the stock exchanges in London, Paris and Frankfurt all ended in the red.
