The US-Iran ceasefire agreement Sparks European bank stocks, with Societe Generale rising 10%.

European bank stocks surged as a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran brought relief. The banking sector sub-index of the European Stoxx 600 index soared by 6.1%, while the overall index rose by 3.5%. Analyst Dan Coatsworth of AJ Bell stated that since March, economically sensitive sectors have faced challenges due to concerns about rising interest rates and slowing business and consumer activity. Therefore, investors now see these sectors as more attractive if the conflict is expected to end, which is logical. Most stocks in this sector saw gains, with UK banks Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest, and Standard Chartered rising by 8%, and UBS and HSBC rising by 5%. French banks BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, Unicredit, Societe Generale, Santander, and Banco Sabadell of Spain saw increases ranging from 6% to 7%. Societe Generale in France rose by 10%.