LONDON: London equities advanced Monday thanks to solid share-price gains for the resources sector, while Frankfurt and Paris marked time.
HSBC was also a big riser, gaining 1.9 percent to £7.58 ($9.95, 8.47 euros) in afternoon trading after the British banking giant announced a share buyback plan alongside a rise in first-half profits.
Currency traders meanwhile reacted to official figures showing eurozone inflation steadied at 1.3 percent in July, well below the ECB's 2.0-percent target, with the euro falling back against the dollar as the prospect diminished for a rapid end to the central bank's easy money policies.
The inflation figure for the 19-country single currency area, released by the Eurostat statistics agency, was the same as June's and matched estimates given for July by analysts surveyed for data company Factset.
"Today marks the beginning of a massive week for the markets, representing a crossroads of big economic and corporate data," noted Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group.
"While last week saw 20 percent of the S&P 500 firms reporting, this week sees economic releases more than compensate for any drop-off in earnings data.
"In an earnings season that has been dominated by the outperformance of US firms, all eyes will be on the world's biggest company on Tuesday, to see if Apple can push the Dow and Nasdaq into yet another new record high," Mahony added.
On Monday meanwhile, oil prices rallied to two-month highs, with New York futures inching past $50 a barrel and the benchmark Brent contract reaching almost $53, before profit-taking set it.
Analysts said crude was being pushed higher by a mix of lower Saudi exports, a deep fall to US crude stockpiles, a weaker dollar and unrest in OPEC member Venezuela.
"A whole series of supportive news drove Brent up by nearly 10 percent within a week to nearly $53 per barrel" on Monday, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
Support for oil was felt across the resources sector, with mining and utility companies enjoying solid share price gains Monday, also on back of well-received earnings updates.
In London, Seven Trent water group led the FTSE 100, up 3.8 percent while in Frankfurt, energy giant EON won 2.1 percent.
In Asian stocks trading, Tokyo closed lower as the yen hardened against the dollar.
The yen's rise came as the dollar was dragged down by increasing US policy uncertainty after another failed attempt at healthcare reform.
The currency also took a hit from US growth data Friday which cast further doubt on any early interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve.
Renewed tensions following North Korea's latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile has also aided the yen, considered a safe bet in times of turmoil.
"There remains real appetite to sell the dollar... as it's becoming evident to all the greenback has problems, and the can of worms is barely open," said Stephen Innes, who heads Asia-Pacific trading at Oanda.
Elsewhere Monday, official data showed China's manufacturing activity had faltered in June, as experts warn of a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.
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