European equities turned mostly higher on Monday after an early dip, supported by signs of reduced geopolitical tension between the United States and Iran, along with encouraging retail sales figures from Germany.
Official data showed German retail sales rose 0.1% month on month in December, reversing a 0.5% decline in November. On an annual basis, sales increased 1.5%, accelerating from 1.3% growth the previous month.
Against that backdrop, Germany’s DAX gained about 0.7%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 were each up around 0.6%.
The U.S. dollar held on to recent gains after House Speaker Mike Johnson said it could take several days before a government funding package is brought to a vote, keeping some uncertainty in Washington.
Among individual stocks, Julius Baer (TG:JGE) moved lower after the Swiss lender reported a sharp fall in profits for 2025.
In France, Sanofi (EU:SAN) shares rose after the drugmaker said a treatment for a genetic disorder delivered encouraging results in a late-stage clinical trial.
Meanwhile, UK-listed 3i Infrastructure (LSE:3IN) came under pressure after warning it is likely to write off around £212 million tied to its investment in DNS:NET.
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