Europe open: Shares up on Asia sentiment

10th Jul 2026 08:02

(Sharecast News) - European shares were higher at the open on Friday, shrugging off geopolitical concerns and taking their cue from a strong session in Asia driven by tech stocks.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was up 0.16% to 641 at 0813 BST with all major bourses higher. Spain's IBEX gained after US President Donald Trump appeared to soften his bellicose tone on potential trade measures after earlier calling the nation a poor NATO partner and threatening to cut off trade ties.

His attacks on Madrid came amid disputes involving Spain's criticism of the US-Israel conflict with Iran and over defence spending.

However, he struck a more conciliatory tone in remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One after the Nato summit in Turkey, saying Spain had "come back all the way" and had been "very generous," suggesting that recent information about Madrid's defence spending had influenced his change of heart.

In equity news, shares in easyJet jumped 13% after a surprise £5.7bn takeover deal with the US private equity firm Apollo, trumping a rival bid from Castlelake.

Vodafone jumped as French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel become its largest shareholder after buying a 16.21% stake for £4.4bn.

On Friday, Emirati telecoms group E&, which first took a stake in Vodafone in 2022, announced the sale of its entire shareholding for 112.5p a share.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com