LONDON, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - European stock markets slid further at the start of trading on Tuesday and the region's natural gas prices soared once more as the Iran war shook financial markets.

Frankfurt's DAX index of top German companies shed 2.0 percent, the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.8 percent and London's FTSE 100 retreated by 1.4 percent in value.

The Dutch TTF natural gas contract, considered the European benchmark, shot up more than 33 percent having rocketed almost 40 percent on Monday after Qatar halted liquefied natural gas production following Iranian attacks on state processing facilities.