European shares slide after U.S. air strike in Iraq

European shares slipped from near record-highs on Friday as geopolitical tensions flared after a U.S. airstrike in Iraq killed a top Iranian commander.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.6% at 0803 GMT, with all the major country indexes well in the red. Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of the country's spreading military influence in the Middle East, was killed in the airstrike at Baghdad airport, prompting a vow of harsh revenge from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The report sent jitters through global financial markets, with Asian shares giving up early gains and U.S. stock index futures sliding about 1%. However, oil prices surged about 3%. All but one European subsector declined between 0.4% and 1.2%. Oil and gas stocks gained 0.4%.