11:47 AM EST, 11/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mostly higher in Monday trading as oil prices fell on hopes that the US and Iran will return to the negotiating table and as investors look ahead to US national election results Tuesday.

The Stoxx Europe rose 0.5%, Germany's DAX gained 0.7%, the FTSE 100 increased 0.4%, France's CAC advanced 1%, while the Swiss Market Index closed 0.1% lower.

In corporate news, BP has completed the sale of its 65% stake in Castrol to Stonepeak, the company said Monday.

The company will use its $6 billion in after-tax proceeds from the sale to reduce debt, BP said.

Castrol will henceforth operate as a standalone company with its own management, governance, and priorities, with BP continuing to retain a 35% stake, the company said.

BP added that it can consider selling its remaining stake after a two-year lock-up period.

Shares of BP fell 4.6 % in London.

Ryanair reported fiscal Q2 earnings Monday of 1.54 euros ($1.73) per diluted share, down from 1.61 euros a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 5.70 billion euros, up from 5.48 billion euros a year earlier.

Analysts expected 5.79 billion euros.

For fiscal Q3, the company described "strong" demand, with fares trending ahead of the previous year.

For fiscal 2027, the airline expects traffic to grow 3% to 214 million and said earnings are "well insulated" from current oil price volatility for the fiscal year ending March 31. For fiscal 2028, the company expects jet-fuel prices to remain high well into the calendar year 2027 "unless there is a swift resolution of the Middle East conflict."

While the company projects that European short-haul airfares will "increase materially" in response to "much higher jet-fuel prices and competitor capacity reductions," it will likely fail to provide a full offset for an estimated 2 billion euro increase in the company fiscal 2028 fuel bill.

The airline is reviewing all costs with a particular focus on airport fees, labor deals that may require pay freezes, decreasing crew ratios, and increased use of AI for back-office support, the company added.

Shares of Ryanair gained closed 5.9% in Dublin.

TotalEnergies has agreed with Malaysia's PETRONAS Carigali, Thailand's PTTEP, and Kuwait's KUFPEC to acquire a 30% operated interest in the Lang Lebah and B14 gas fields, which is located off the coast of Sarawak, Malaysia, the company said Monday.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

TotalEnergies also said Monday that it has expanded its cooperation with oil companies in India and Angola to improve methane detection and reduce emissions.

TotalEnergies said the partnerships support its goal to achieve near-zero upstream methane emissions by 2030.

Shares of the French oil and gas major fell 2.5% in Paris.

The UK has assigned specific lead manager roles to six major banks for the planned pilot issuance of its Digital Gilt Instrument, or DIGIT, by Q1 2027, according to a Monday statement.

The roles, which cover documentation to platform coordination, were given to Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds Banking, Morgan Stanley, and Royal Bank of Canada's) RBC Capital Markets, the UK government said.

In addition, the Bank of England has approved linking HSBC's and the London Stock Exchange Group's Digital Securities Depositories, giving investors another platform to access DIGIT, according to the statement.

Shares of Barclays increased 2.4%, HSBC gained 0.9%, while NatWest and Lloyds each climbed 2.5% in London.

Shell unit Shell Trading Rotterdam has signed a long-term offtake agreement with Green Sky Manara for sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuels from a planned facility in Port Nador, Morocco, the company said Monday.

The deal gives Shell exclusive rights to purchase about 150,000 tonnes of SAF annually, or an equivalent volume of hydrogenated vegetable oil, along with bionaphtha and biopropane.

The facility is scheduled to begin operations in October 2028, the company added.

Shell's offshore unit also signed multiple agreements with Hornbeck Offshore Services covering integrated deepwater services in the US Gulf of Mexico, the latter said Monday

The company said the deals include riser-based well intervention, riserless well intervention stimulation support, and marine transportation, with operations set to start in 2027.

Shares of the British oil and gas company lost 3.1% in London.

Ericsson said Monday it introduced a new system that uses existing mobile networks to detect and track low-flying drones and other moving objects, including those not connected to the network.

The company said the system uses 5G radio equipment, artificial intelligence and signal processing to identify objects by analyzing reflected radio signals. It can provide tracking data to defense, public safety and critical infrastructure operators, complementing existing radar and detection systems, the company added.

Shares of the Swedish telecommunications company edged 0.1% lower in Stockholm.

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