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

European shares experienced a positive shift on Monday, with technology stocks driving the gains, as oil prices continued to decline for a fourth consecutive day, easing investor concerns and bolstering risk sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.56% at 638.98 points by 0710 GMT, climbing from a 0.6% decline last week. Other regional stock exchanges also saw an increase in trading value.

While energy stocks experienced a decline of 0.62% as oil prices eased following reports of a higher-than-anticipated supply leaving the Gulf, travel stocks saw a rise of 0.86% due to the positive impact of lower oil prices on airline shares. Technology stocks led sectoral gains, advancing around 2% thanks to the strong performance of chip-related companies like Soitec and Aixtron.

Germany’s DAX index also experienced a gain of 0.76%, as investors digested the results of state elections in northeastern Germany. Projections indicated that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party emerged as the largest party. Market participants were also evaluating data from Sweden, which revealed a decrease in long-term inflation expectations among financial and business groups in September.

Currently, attention is shifting towards a meeting later in the week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting aims to provide insights into trade relations and the global economic outlook. Among individual stocks, AstraZeneca experienced a decline of 0.32%, despite the pharmaceutical company announcing that its cancer treatment, Enhertu, received approval for EU use in treating early breast cancer.

Sweden’s Nordnet saw a 4.6% increase after the digital bank and online brokerage platform announced a stock buyback program. Shares of biotech firm Ipsen, on the other hand, fell more than 6%.