July 27 (Reuters) – European shares climbed nearly 1% on Monday, as a pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities over the weekend sent oil prices lower and boosted risk appetite, while investors braced for a pivotal week of earnings from major U.S. tech companies.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.8% at 649.34, as of 0706 GMT.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would halt attacks if the U.S. does the same, after Washington paused its bombing campaign amid concerns about depleting its arsenal.
Brent crude futures dropped 6% to around $90 a barrel, with energy stocks losing 2%, joining utilities as the only declining sectors in the STOXX 600. [O/R]
Travel and leisure stocks led broader gains, up 2.4%, as lower oil prices boosted the outlook for airlines. Shares of Lufthansa and IAG gained 3.7% each, while Ryanair added 3.4%.
This week, markets will scrutinize quarterly results from U.S. Big Tech companies including Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon.com and Apple for signs on whether the AI-driven rally has further room to run.
Corporate earnings are in full swing in Europe as well.
Vodafone advanced 3.7% after the telecom raised its outlook following its Safaricom deal, and said it expects to deliver results at the upper end of its revised range.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
