06:50 AM EST, 03/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked moderately higher midday Thursday as traders weighed calmer oil prices, overnight equity gains on Wall Street and in Asia, and also looked for values after recent sell-offs.

Bank and tech stocks led gains on continental trading floors.

Investors eyed Wall Street futures in the red, but solidly higher closes overnight on Asian exchanges, including a 9.6% rise on Seoul's KOSPI Index.

In economic news, retail sales in the euro area declined by 0.1% in January from December, but rose 0.1% in the broader European Union, Eurostat reported. On year, retail sales advanced by 2% in January in the euro area and by 2.3% in the bloc.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.5% mid-session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was up 1%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index gained 0.5%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index rose 0.7%, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index also inclined 0.7%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, rose 0.5%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was up 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.3%. The CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, and Spain's IBEX 35 lifted 1%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were higher at 2.80%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were up 2.1% at $83.13 a barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 17.6% at 24.11, but still indicating above-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a negative signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.

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