(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 7 apr - European shares closed lower, reversing earlier gains, as optimism over a ceasefire in the war in Iran faded.

US president Donald Trump said yesterday the US was ready to wipe out Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm (ET) today.

In a post today he threatened that 'a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will.' In the meantime, oil prices were once again higher after media reported that the US has hit targets on Kharg Island, which host Iran's largest oil shipment facility.

On the data front, the economic sentiment index for the eurozone slumped to -19.2 points in April from -3.1 points in March, according to data from the Sentix research institute.

Also weighing, the eurozone services PMI fell to 50.2 in March from 51.9 the previous month, while the composite output index decreased to 50.7 from 51.9 in February.

In Italy, the services PMI fell to 48.8 from 52.3, while France also saw its services PMI drop to 48.8 from 49.6.

Germany's services PMI decreased to 50.9 from 53.5 in February.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.84% at 10,348.79 points, the Frankfurt DAX fell 1.03% at 22,928.45 points, the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.87% at 7,908.74 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB slipped 0.47% at 45,411.79 points, and in Madrid the IBEX.

35 closed 0.67% lower at 17,439.15 points.

(RADIOCOR) 07-04-26 18:06:56 (0547) 5 NNNN