-- The European stock markets were tracking higher in Friday trading as a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has gone into effect, and Iran announced that it has reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which sent oil prices tumbling.
The Stoxx Europe was rising 1.4%, Germany's DAX was surging 2.2%, the FTSE 100 was increasing 0.7%, France's CAC was up 2%, and the Swiss Market Index was moving 1.7% higher.
Falling oil prices hit European energy companies as BP and Shell were falling 7.2% and 5.4% respective in London, while shares of Eni were dropping 7% in Milan. RWE and E.ON were down 4% and 1.8% respectively in Frankfurt, while TotalEnergies and Engie were losing 5.2% and 1.4% respectively in Paris.
And in corporate news, Deutsche Bank has notified Germany's central bank Bundesbank that it may have violated sanctions that limit deposits of Russian individuals to less than 100,000 euros ($118,000), multiple media outlets reported Friday.
A Deutsche Bank compliance group discovered the potential breach after Germany updated its legislation earlier in the year to implement the EU sanctions.
Deutsche Bank didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from.
Shares of Deutsche Bank were up close to 3% in Frankfurt.
HSBC is in talks to sell its retail banking assets in Indonesia, with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., or OCBC, emerging as the preferred bidder, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The potential deal could value the business at more than 6 trillion rupiah ($350 million), though discussions remain ongoing and no final decision has been made, the report said.
HSBC and OCBC did not immediately respond to' requests for comment, while attempts to reach Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were unsuccessful.
Shares of HSBC were moving 2% higher in London.
Ericsson reported Q1 earnings Friday of 0.27 Swedish krona ($0.029) per diluted share, down from 1.24 krona a year earlier.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected 1.04 krona.
Net sales for the quarter ended March 31 were 49.33 billion krona, down from 55.03 billion krona a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 50.93 billion krona.
The company also said it authorized a stock buyback plan worth up to 15 billion krona, scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Shares of the Swedish telecommunications company fell more than 4% in Stockholm.