European shares opened higher on Monday as traders awaited earnings from several major banks, while Portugal's Galp jumped to a 16-year high on a positive gas exploration result in Namibia.
By 0716 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5 percent, led by a 0.5 percent gain in banks.
European bank earnings will be in the spotlight this week as traders look for a clearer picture of whether higher interest rates are still boosting earnings or whether the year-long rally in stock prices will start to lose momentum.
BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Lloyds will all report earnings later this week.
Among stocks that made strong gains, Galp Energia jumped 17 percent after the Portuguese company said the Mopan field off the coast of Namibia could contain at least 10 billion barrels of oil.
Alstom shares gained 4.9 percent after the French train maker agreed to sell its North American conventional railway signaling business to German rail systems maker Knorr-Bremse for about 630 million euros ( $ 671 million).
