Both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 were little changed at the start of the week, with markets appearing to stabilise even as traders remained focused on the conflict involving Iran. Strikes continued and oil prices climbed, while US President Trump stepped up pressure on other nations to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and indicated that the US was in talks with Iran.
At the same time, traders were bracing for a week packed with central bank decisions, including rate announcements from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The energy sector led the gains, and defence stocks also traded higher. Among individual movers, HSBC Holdings (+0.5%), Shell (+0.7%), Unilever (+0.8%) and TotalEnergies (+0.4%) advanced. Commerzbank (+3.6%) was one of the top performers after UniCredit launched an offer to lift its stake in the German lender to more than 30% without seeking control; UniCredit shares rose 0.8%.
On the downside, Roche (-0.2%), Novartis (-0.4%) and AstraZeneca (-0.7%) traded lower.
