European shares ended the session on Monday virtually unchanged as investors stuck to the sidelines as the US prepared to roll out economic sanctions targeting Iran’s trading partners, and followers of the tech sector braced themselves in advance of Nvidia’s latest quarterly results this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 edged 0.005 per cent higher. DublinThe Iseq All-Share index rose 0.7 per cent to 14,290.01. Ryanair stood out as a strong feature, rising 2.2 per cent to €26.43, as oil prices dipped. Irish Continental Group (ICG) lost 0.8 per cent to €7.24, as investors increasingly came to the view that chief executive Eamonn Rothwell’s management buyout bid will be shot down by investors at an extraordinary general meeting on Friday. How many new homes does Ireland really need? Listen | 42:23Banking stocks were marginally higher, with AIB adding 0.1 per cent to €11.02, while Bank of Ireland gained 0.3 per cent to €19.23. LondonThe UK’s FTSE 100 index edged higher, as miners helped offset geopolitical tensions, while investors braced ​for big-ticket events that could set the tone for global markets in the near term. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.4 per cent. Miners Rio Tinto and Anglo American gained 0.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, as ⁠a weaker US currency supported metal ⁠prices.Consumer stocks British American Tobacco, Diageo and Unilever were higher, offering support to the main index.Shell has drawn interest from potential ‌bidders, including ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, for its US chemical assets that could fetch up to $8 billion (€7 billion), the Financial Times ​reported. Shell’s stock dipped in line with oil prices.Shares ​of transport tech company Tracsis rose 4.7 per cent after raising its full-year forecasts.EuropeMining shares were lifted by steelmaker SSAB AB. The stock rose 2.6 per cent on news that the US and Canada failed to agree on a tariff deal. Autos and healthcare sectors were the biggest laggards and tech underperformed the broader market.Siegfried Holding slipped 5.5 per cent, erasing gains made after first-half results on Friday, as analysts reduced their estimates on the Swiss pharmaceutical ingredients maker.European stocks are struggling for direction after narrowly avoiding their longest losing streak in a decade last week. Investors are now turning to a busy week of economic data and central-bank events for fresh catalysts, including inflation figures from France and the Jackson Hole meeting in the US.“European equities enter the week with a more fragile rates-and-inflation backdrop, but a still-improving earnings picture,” said Ulrich Urbahn, head of multiasset strategy and research at Berenberg.New YorkThe S&P 500 and the tech-heavy ‌Nasdaq were lower in early afternoon as investors weighed the potential fallout from the US pledge of an “economic D-Day” against Iran while awaiting artificial intelligence (AI) giant Nvidia’s results and a key inflation report later this week.Concerns over surging energy prices and ballooning government debt had pushed US Treasury ⁠yields higher last week, with the 30-year yield touching a 19-year peak before the treasury announced support measures.Quarterly results from Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, are expected to be another key ‌catalyst for markets. Any sign of slowing growth could reignite ​concerns over stretched valuations and how far the AI-driven rally could run.Trading in megacaps was mixed on Monday. Apple and Amazon.com were each up slightly, while Nvidia was in negative territory US-listed shares of Alibaba slipped after the Chinese ecommerce giant launched a $10.2 billion share sale to fund its AI ambitions.Markets will also monitor the personal consumption expenditures report, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Wednesday for clues on how the ‌Iran conflict is feeding into broader economic conditions.Traders have fully priced in a quarter of a percentage-point interest rate hike by the end of 2026, according to LSEG data. A benign inflation report earlier this month, ​however, has reduced the chances of an immediate increase. – Additional reporting: Reuters