European stocks close flat as sentiment remains wary; Deutsche Bank down 1.6%

Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway's energy state secretary, says the Norwegian continental shelf has become "extremely important" for Europe's energy system.

Paul Jackson, global head of asset allocation research at Invesco, says that's particularly the case for industrial commodities.

The shares of several French banks were down mid-afternoon amid reports of French authorities searching offices due to suspected money laundering and fiscal fraud.

Shares of Societe Generale were down 2%, while BNP Paribas dropped 1.3%. HSBC offices were also searched, as reported by Reuters, and shares of the British bank dipped 0.6%. Stocks were already down in the morning session on wider concerns over the global banking system.

A spokesperson of the PNF financial prosecution office confirmed that premises had been searched.

Societe General confirmed the searches, according to a Reuters report. The other concerned banks did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The full story can be read here.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

People want to draw parallels to the past, but the current real estate market is nothing like 2008, Cedrik Lachance, director of research at real estate analysis firm Green Street, tells CNBC.

The oil and gas sector made the biggest gains in the Stoxx 600 index with a 1.5% uptick around 11.30 a.m. London time.

Energean led the pack, slightly extending earlier gains to 8.9% after a dip in stock price last Thursday following the publication of its full-year results.

Scotland-based oil and gas company Harbour Energy was up 3.1%, while Portuguese energy corporation Galp Energia was up 3%.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Paul Jackson, global head of asset allocation research at Invesco, says that's particularly the case for industrial commodities.

U.K. shop prices rose by 8.9% annually in March, a record high, according to figures published by the British Retail Consortium.

Inflation was most extreme in food prices, which were up by 15%, with fresh food up by 17%.

A separate survey from Kantar found shoppers faced an £837 increase in annual shopping bills without changing their spending habits.

"Shoppers are taking action and clearly hunting around for the best value," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.

"Footfall was up in every single grocer this month, with households going to the shops just over four times per week in March. Apart from Christmas, that's the highest frequency we've seen since the start of the pandemic."

— Jenni Reid

Shares of hydrocarbon exploration Energean topped European stocks in morning trade, gaining 8.5%.

The company's stock price had dipped after the publication of full-year results last Thursday, which showed it swung from a $96.2 million loss to a $17.3 million profit and set out a growth plan.

Embracer Group, the Swedish media holding company, dropped 13.6%.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, the firm said some of the partnership and licensing deals it had in the works would be completed slightly later than planned.

Embracer also featured in a Financial Times report which noted investor concerns over the company's light-touch approach to integrating new businesses and the gap between its actual and adjusted profits.

— Jenni Reid

Business confidence in France dipped in March, figures from national statistics agency Insee showed.

The index compiled from business manager responses shed one point from February, though it remained above its long-term average.

Sentiment weakened in retail trade, services, manufacturing and building construction, with only wholesale trade showing improvement.

Figures published Monday showed business sentiment in Germany climbed for a fifth straight month in February, as measured by the Ifo Business Climate Index.

— Jenni Reid

European stocks were higher early Monday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.5% at 8:20 a.m. London time.

Oil and gas stocks climbed 1.44%, mining stocks were up 1.36% and banks continued to regain some positive momentum, up 1.2%.

— Jenni Reid

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said in a speech Monday night that he had confidence in the U.K. banking system and regulatory framework, which allows the central bank to remain focused on bringing down inflation.

He described U.K. banks as "resilient, with robust capital and liquidity positions, and well placed to support the economy," Sky News reported.

"We have a strong macroprudential policy regime in this country. With the Financial Policy Committee on the case of securing financial stability, the Monetary Policy Committee can focus on its own important job of returning inflation to target," Bailey said.

The BoE hiked its key rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% last week, after inflation came in hotter-than-expected at 10.4% in February.

— Jenni Reid

Policymakers were right to shoot first and ask questions later amid recent banking volatility, Thanos Papasavvas, founder and CEO at ABP Invest, tells CNBC.

Prices of bitcoin and ether fell roughly 3% in Asia's morning trade, according to Coin Metrics – after U.S. officials filed a complaint against crypto exchange Binance and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao.

The filing alleged that the firm actively solicited U.S. users and subverted the exchanges own "ineffective compliance program."

Bitcoin fell 3.09% in the past 24 hours, according to Coin Metrics, and traded at $27,003 – while ether also fell 2.95% to $1,712.

Bitcoin is up roughly 63% quarter-to-date and on pace to mark the best quarter since the first quarter of 2021, when bitcoin gained 103.73%. It is also on pace to see the third consecutive month of gains.

Ether is also up 41.3% quarter-to-date and on pace for the best quarter since the first quarter of 2021, when the cryptocurrency gained over 150%.

– Rohan Goswami, Gina Francolla, Jihye Lee

The market sell-off earlier this month has hurt small-cap stocks more than their larger peers.

Yet Josh Bennett, senior portfolio manager at Alger, believes the volatility has created opportunities for investors to pick stocks that will outperform in the medium to long term.

Bennett named three stocks that he says are likely to have resilient earnings through a potential recession.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Shares of banks in the Asia-Pacific rose, tracking Wall Street's moves overnight after First Citizens bought a large chunk of failed Silicon Valley Bank.

Australia's Macquarie Group rose 1.5% in Asia's morning trade, alongside Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia all up roughly 1%.

South Korea's financials also rose – Shinhan Financial Group rose 3.44%, KB Financial Group climbed 3.53% and Woori Financial Group gained more than 2%.

In Japan, Mizuho Financial Group also gained 3.15%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 2.42% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rose more than 3%.

— Jihye Lee

Despite the market volatility, Morgan Stanley upgraded a raft of stocks in March, including both U.S. and global picks.

The bullish calls spanned tech, pharmaceuticals and more, with the bank giving one stock a double upgrade. Here are five of the stocks upgraded by the investment bank:

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are expected to open higher Thursday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 14 points higher at 7,626, Germany's DAX 13 points higher at 15,837, France's CAC up 4 points at 7,253 and Italy's FTSE MIB 17 points higher at 26,579, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Tate & Lyle, Manchester Utd, Johnson Matthey, United Utilities and Pets at Home. Data releases include a detailed breakdown of Germany's first-quarter gross domestic product.

— Holly Ellyatt