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Economy
European shares opened stable as focus remains on Middle East events and oil prices decline following a pause in Iran-Israel attacks.
European equities opened with little change as attention stayed on unfolding events in the Middle East, while oil prices dropped after Iran and Israel ceased exchanging attacks following a request from US President Donald Trump.
By 0708 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index had inched up 0.1 percent to 622.68 points.
Oil prices reversed nearly all gains made in the previous session after Iran and Israel halted their hostilities, but investors remained cautious since diplomatic talks have yet to produce a lasting peace agreement and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
Concerns over inflation led markets to anticipate a 25 basis point interest rate hike by the European Central Bank at its Thursday meeting, with the future direction of monetary policy set to attract the most attention.
The healthcare sector saw the largest decline among sectors, falling 0.8 percent. Shares of British pharmaceutical company GSK dropped 2 percent after it agreed to acquire US-listed cancer drugmaker Novalent for $10.6 billion.
The technology sub-index rose 0.9 percent as global stocks linked to artificial intelligence, which had experienced a sell-off following strong gains, showed signs of stabilizing.
UBS shares increased by 1.5 percent after Reuters reported that Swiss lawmakers are considering a new proposal to ease capital requirements for the bank, potentially reducing its financial burden by billions of dollars.
