Europe’s STOXX 600 gains as tech rallies, oil retreat eases nerves

European shares experienced a climb on Monday, propelled by technology stocks, while oil prices continued their fourth straight week of declines, alleviating concerns and boosting risk appetite. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.56% to 638.98 points by 0710 GMT, after falling 0.6% the previous week. Most regional stock exchanges also posted gains.

Energy stocks suffered a 0.62% decline as oil prices softened following reports that a higher supply was leaving the Gulf of Mexico than initially anticipated, despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Travel stocks, however, rose 0.86%, buoyed by lower oil prices that lifted airline shares. Technology stocks led sectoral gains, with shares advancing roughly 2%. Key chip-linked companies like Soitec and Aixtron contributed to the tech sector's performance.

In Germany, the DAX gained 0.76%, as investors digested the results of state elections in northeastern Germany. Preliminary results suggested that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party would be the largest in the region. Market participants were also reviewing data from Sweden, which indicated that long-term inflation expectations among financial and business groups had eased in September.

Looking forward, the focus shifted to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the week. This gathering was expected to shed light on trade relations and provide insights into the global economic outlook. Among individual stocks, AstraZeneca slipped 0.32% despite the pharmaceutical company announcing that its cancer treatment Enhertu had received EU approval for use in early breast cancer treatment.

Sweden's Nordnet saw a gain of 4.6% after the digital bank and online brokerage platform announced a buyback program. Shares of biotech firm Ipsen declined by more than 6%.