Europe’s stocks ended the day subdued and oil prices pared earlier gains following signs of a pause in attacks between Iran and Israel. Crude prices had climbed as much as 5 per cent after renewed Israeli strikes ​on Iran and attacks on Lebanon dampened hopes for a quick end to the conflict.⁠But gains later narrowed to about 1 per cent after US president Donald Trump urged the two sides to “stop shooting”, and ​the announcement of a halt in attacks by Iran’s military helped steady sentiment.DUBLINEuronext Dublin got off to a rocky start on Monday, ending the session down almost 1 per cent. The Dublin market lagged behind other European indexes, with banking shares dragging the market lower and construction stocks also losing steam. Bank of Ireland was almost 1.8 per cent off the pace, while AIB lost 1 per cent.Among home builders, Glenveagh and Cairn both declined, with Glenveagh losing 3.2 per cent and Cairn down almost 4.7 per cent. Insulation specialist Kingspan was 0.8 per cent lower. In travel stocks, Ryanair lost 0.6 per cent, and Irish Continental Group was flat. LONDONThe FTSE 100 index ended nearly flat at 10,373.2 points, after falling as much as 0.5 per cent ​earlier in the day. The midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.2 per cent.Heavyweight banks climbed 0.4 per cent, as shares of HSBC added around 1 per cent, snapping ⁠a three-day losing streak. Life insurers ⁠and beverages led gains ​among FTSE 350 sectors, climbing around 0.7 per cent each.Tate & Lyle jumped 14.8 per cent after US firm Ingredion struck a deal to buy the food ingredients maker for £2.7 billion in cash.EUROPEThe pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.2 per cent lower at 621.73 points, after ​hitting a two-week low earlier in the session.Italy’s banking sector was the main corporate focus. Monte dei ​Paschi di Siena (MPS) gained 13 per cent after Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s biggest banking group, announced a €30.6 billion unsolicited cash-and-share bid to buy the lender, in what could be one of Italy’s biggest banking deals. Intesa slipped 1.4 per cent.Banco BPM has already proposed a ​merger with MPS, aimed at creating Italy’s second-largest domestic operator. Banco BPM shares were marginally higher.ING analyst Suvi Platerink Kosonen said a BPM-MPS merger would leave Italy with ‌three larger ⁠domestic banks, which would appeal to policymakers, while Intesa’s alternative could create a more diverse landscape with smaller players.Among others, drugmaker Zealand Pharma tumbled 22.7 per cent after trial data for ⁠its injectable ​obesity drug survodutide showed high rates of patients quitting treatment due to ​side effects.NEW YORKWall Street staged a comeback as dip buyers emerged, lifting stocks amid renewed enthusiasm over artificial intelligence and bets that a solid economy will keep powering corporate America.In a tech-led rebound, the S&P 500 rose about 1 per cent. The Nasdaq 100 climbed twice as much, with chipmakers set for their best day in over a year after a sell-off. The index of high-profile firms such as Nvidia Corp and Micron Technology jumped 6.5 per cent. Bitcoin joined the advance in riskier assets. Also helping sentiment was the fact that oil pared its surge as Iran and Israel pledged to end attacks that threatened peace talks.Following a brief pause in the rally that sent equities to a series of all-time highs, momentum-chasing traders returned, energising bets that the bull market is nowhere near its end.The positioning-driven rout in US stocks on Friday was a “healthy reset”, according to Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg