European Shares Climb As Trump's Two-week Truce Sparks Relief Rally

(RTTNews) - European stocks soared on Wednesday as a two-week Middle East ceasefire helped ease fears of supply disruptions in oil markets and tempered inflation concerns.

Brent crude prices slumped 14 percent toward $90 a barrel on hopes that oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz could soon resume.

In economic releases, Germany's factory orders recovered in February, albeit at a slower than expected pace, ahead of the war in Iran, data from Destatis revealed.

Driven by the substantial growth in the auto industry, factory orders grew 0.9 percent on a monthly basis in February, in contrast to the 11.1 percent decline in January.

Overall factory orders logged an annual growth of 3.5 percent in February after rising 0.3 percent in January.

Elsewhere, U.K. house prices decreased 0.5 percent on a monthly basis in March, reversing February's 0.3 percent increase as the Iran conflict pushed up inflation expectations and dampened hopes of interest rate reductions, data from the mortgage lender Halifax showed.

On a yearly basis, house price growth eased to 0.8 percent in March from 1.2 percent in February.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 jumped 3.6 percent to 611.58 after declining 1 percent in the previous session.

The German DAX surged 4.6 percent, France's CAC 40 added 4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 2.3 percent.

Banks topped the gainers list, with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole climbing 6-9 percent.

German drug discovery and development company Evotec soared 8.4 percent after reporting 2025 results in line with expectations and reiterating its outlook.

French train manufacturer Alstom gained 5.2 percent after winning a signaling order in Europe valued at approximately €295 million.

Spirts maker Remy Cointreau advanced 4 percent after announcing organisational changes.

Drugmaker GSK rose 1.2 percent in London after receiving Chinese approval for Exdensur, the first ultra-long-acting biologic for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.