European markets rally as tech stocks lead gains; Nokia shares rise 3%

*The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up around 0.44 percent shortly after the opening bell, with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

*Europe's technology stocks led the gains Monday morning, up over 1.3 percent, after major telecom operators announced their respective timelines for the adopting of next-generation 5G networks.

*Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is due to speak at the House on Tuesday.

European stocks were higher Monday morning as investors prepared for an event-packed week of economic data.

Symbol Name Price Change %Change Volume
FTSE FTSE 7267.66 23.25 0.32% 76166901
DAX DAX 12548.36 64.57 0.52% 15452336
CAC CAC 5347.78 30.41 0.57% 9355559
IBEX 35 --- --- --- --- --

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up around 0.74 percent during early morning deals, with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

Europe's technology stocks led the gains, up over 1.3 percent, after major telecom operators announced their respective timelines for the adoption of next-generation 5G networks. The scheduled rollout prompted shares of Temenos Group, Ericsson and Nokia to surge more than 3 percent shortly after the opening bell.

Looking at individual stocks, Porsche shares rose towards to the top of the benchmark after a rating upgrade.

Deutsche Bank upwardly revised its stock recommendation to "buy" from "hold" Monday morning, sending shares of the German automaker over 2 percent hig her.

Lloyd's of London underwriter Hiscox posted a more than 90 percent fall in full-year pretax profit, as the company said insurers and reinsurers had faced the costliest year on record due to natural disasters. Shares of the firm were down almost 5 percent on the news.

Italian election

In Asia, markets were mostly higher as global investors braced for a week packed with inflation-related data and events; Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is due to speak at the House on Tuesday and at the Senate on Thursday and Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) – a key inflation measure for the Fed — is due Thursday.

On the political front, Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is due to approve a coalition deal with the Social Democrats.

Meanwhile, Italy's parliamentary election was seen fast approaching with less than a week to go until citizens cast their votes.