European stocks fell Thursday, with speculation of U.S. intervention in the Middle East keeping investors cautious ahead of a series of central bank meetings. At 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.7%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.7% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led declines in Asia-Pacific markets Thursday, falling over 2%, as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady, while the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran continues to dent sentiment. Meanwhile, mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.82%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.02% to close at 38,488.34, while the Topix declined 0.58% to end the trading day at 2,792.08. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.19% to close at 2,977.74. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day flat at 8,523.7. Crude oil futures were little changed on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate over its nuclear program in the wake of six days of Israeli airstrikes. U.S. crude oil futures rose 30 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $75.14 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent gained 25 cents, or 0.25%, to settle at $76.70 per barrel. Prices had jumped more than 4% on Tuesday after Trump called for Iran’s unconditional surrender. Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, while platinum surged to a more than four-year peak. Spot gold added 0.1% to $3,392.08 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose less than 0.2% to $3,412.5. U.S. markets are closed today. They resume trading Friday.