European shares gain as tech stocks rebound; Middle East in focus

European shares rose on Thursday, supported by a rebound in technology stocks while investors weighed renewed concerns about the Middle East after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wanted to “make a deal.” The pan-European STOXX 600 climbed 0.4% to 638.66 by 0710 GMT, with the technology sector up 1.6% as chipmakers led gains. Siltronic jumped 7.4%, Soitec rose 5.5%, and ASML added 2.5%. The broader mood also improved after a report that China may allow limited access for domestic AI firms to Nvidia’s H200 chips. Oil prices were marginally lower as markets digested fresh U.S. strikes on Iran, which followed Trump’s comments that the deal was over. In Spain, the IBEX gained 0.9%, while AstraZeneca shares fell 8% after Wainua failed a late-stage trial endpoint.