European stocks rebounded from a muted start, with the STOXX 50 up 0.3% and the STOXX 600 gaining 0.4%, as investors focused on corporate updates while monitoring developments in the Middle East and awaiting key earnings from Alphabet and Tesla later in the day.
Airbus jumped more than 6% after announcing a €5 billion share buyback programme and raising its guidance. Randstad also outperformed, climbing nearly 8% following a revenue beat. UniCredit rose 1.3% to reach a 16-year high of €83.53 ahead of its earnings release. Santander advanced almost 2% after reporting a 17% year-on-year increase in underlying net profit for the second quarter.
By contrast, technology shares were under pressure, with ASML Holding down 2.1%, SAP off 1.2%, and STMicroelectronics slipping 0.8%.