European bourses rallied midday Wednesday amid slumping crude prices and media reports that Tehran and Washington are preparing a memorandum on nuclear talks that might lead to a resolution of Persian Gulf hostilities.
Bank, property and tech stocks led gains on continental trading floors, while oil shares lagged.
The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 2.5% mid-session.
Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were down nearly 11% at $97.89 a barrel.
Investors also eyed Wall Street futures flashing green amid solidly higher closes overnight on Asian exchanges, with Seoul's KOSPI index rising 6.5% to shatter the 7,000-milestone on strength in tech issues, including a 14.4% rise in Samsung Electronics shares.
In economic news, eurozone producer prices in March rose by 3.4% month over month, Eurostat reported. Year over year, the eurozone producer prices in March were up 2.1%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was up 3.1%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index rose 4.8%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index eased 4.1%, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index edged 1.6% higher.
The REITE, a European REIT index, rose 3%.
On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was up 2.9%, and the FTSE 100 in London advanced 2.6%. The CAC 40 in Paris was up 3.1%, and Spain's IBEX 35 lifted 2.8%.
Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were lower, near 2.98%.
The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 9.2% at 21.30, but still indicated 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.