European shares gain as SAP lifts tech stocks; Middle East on watch

European shares edged higher with the STOXX 600 up 0.6% to 644.67, lifted by a 10% surge in SAP after strong cloud backlog growth. Broader tech index gained 1.7%, though concerns over AI capex sustainability and open-source competition weighed on sentiment. Separately, Volkswagen fell about 1% after cutting its revenue growth forecast on a 9.5% drop in quarterly profit, while three ECB policymakers signalled further rate hikes may be needed as inflation risks remain elevated.