LIVE MARKETS-European shares show cautious optimism

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EUROPEAN SHARES SHOW CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

The STOXX 600 is up 1.5% in the first hour and a bit of trading helped by solid gains from tech and banks, though everyone in the market knows that this could turn dramatically on just one social media post.

Markets are still finding some positive news in speculation about U.S.-Iranian negations, and it's actually the third straight day of gains for the broad European benchmark. It's now up 2.6% since Friday's close, and, if sustained that'd be the biggest weekly rise since late September.

Of course, even on a normal week, saying "if sustained" on Wednesday morning, in this environment, could be a big "if", but it's still milestone of sorts.

And every major European sector is in positive territory, with the big beasts - tech and banks - up around 2% each. .SX7P, .SX8P

Also maybe helping the mood at the margin, German Ifo expectations index came in line with expectations.

Government bonds are also rallying even though ECB President Christine Lagarde said a "not-too-persistent" overshoot of the European Central Bank's inflation target from the current energy shock may warrant some moderate policy tightening.

(Alun John)

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