European equities rallied in morning trade on Monday, with a historic deal over Iran's nuclear program bolstering risk appetite. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index was trading at highs not seen since May 2008 on Monday as oil prices fell sharply after Iran and six world powers at the weekend sealed a preliminary deal to curb Iran's nuclear program. Germany's DAX also continued its push higher, reaching another fresh all-time high above 9,200 points.
The interim agreement, which sees Iran curtailing its development of nuclear activities in return for reduced international sanctions, has the potential to remove the "Middle East premium" from oil prices analysts said, but Israel and prominent U.S. Republicans have criticized the deal.