European equities ended flat on Wednesday after the DAX and CAC 40 reached more than one-month lows in the previous session, while the FTSE 100 moved toward its own one-month low. A broad rise in sovereign borrowing costs has reduced the equity risk premium, the extra return investors seek over government bonds, and weakened stock valuations. German 10-year Bund yields hovered near their 2011 high of 3.35%, while U.S. 10-year Treasury yields climbed above 4.78%. Higher risk-free returns can redirect capital into fixed income, while increased discount rates reduce the present value of future corporate earnings, particularly for technology, green energy, and real estate. Elevated yields are also raising companies' capital and refinancing costs, pressuring profit margins and forward earnings-per-share estimates. Crude oil rose above $90 a barrel after direct U.S.-Iranian strikes in the Persian Gulf, renewing concerns that energy inflation could remain persistent into 2027 and supporting expectations for prolonged central-bank tightening. Traders priced a roughly 60% to 65% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate increase at the Sept. 16 meeting following Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole address. Eurozone core inflation eased slightly to 2.4% in preliminary August data, but headline inflation accelerated to 3.3% because of energy costs, keeping pressure on the ECB ahead of its Sept. 10 gathering. Germany's DAX fell 0.2%, France's CAC 40 was flat, and London's FTSE 100 was largely unchanged. The British benchmark showed relative resilience because of its large weighting in integrated oil companies, including Shell and BP. BP gained 1.3% after appointing Ian Tyler as chairman.