European shares recorded a slight increase on Monday, with the STOXX 600 index rising by 0.2 per cent by 08:28 GMT, bolstered by a 0.3 per cent rise in banking stocks, according to Reuters. This comes as investors prepare for upcoming earnings reports from major banks, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and Lloyds. Maximilian Kunkel, Chief Investment Officer at UBS, noted signs of stabilisation and growth in the market. However, he also pointed out that while lending might increase and non-performing loans could remain low, net interest margins are decreasing. Meanwhile, Portuguese oil firm Galp Energia saw its shares surge by 17.1 per cent to a 16-year high following a positive update on its Mopane field in Namibia, which is estimated to hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil. In other news, shares of Alstom rose by 1.5 per cent after the company agreed to sell its North American conventional rail signalling business to Knorr-Bremse AG for approximately 630 million euros ($671 million). Swedish gaming group Embracer announced plans to split into three separate listed companies, leading to a 10.3 per cent increase in its shares. However, not all the news was positive. Iveco's shares dropped by 4.1 per cent after the announcement of CEO Gerrit Marx's departure to lead CNH Industrial. Additionally, Germany's industry lobby, BDI, warned of a potential decline in industrial production and stagnation in exports this year. Investors are now awaiting April's consumer confidence data for the eurozone and comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde.
