European shares edge higher, buoyed by financials

The STOXX 600 index edged higher on Monday, aided by gains in financial stocks ahead of data on industrial production, while investors geared up for fresh earnings releases later this week that could offer clues into the health of corporate Europe.

The pan-European index edged up 0.3% to 619.74 points by 0810 GMT, with banks-heavy Spain’s benchmark leading gains among regional markets.

European shares hit a volatile patch in late January and through early February on worries that newer artificial intelligence tools could squeeze profits of traditional businesses.

However, a better-than-feared earnings season in the face of steep U.S. tariffs helped the STOXX index touch a record high last week and log its third-straight week of gains.

Banks and insurance stocks that had been mired in AI-disruption worries last week were up 1.6% and 1%, respectively.

No major earnings releases are expected on Monday, but those from Orange, Zealand Pharma, Airbus and BE Semiconductor are due later this week.

On the data front, a report later in the day is expected to show euro zone industrial production increased 1.3% year-on-year in December, compared with a 2.5% rise a month earlier, at a time when investors are anticipating that fiscal stimulus is reviving the sector.