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April 22 Reuters European shares edged higher on Monday with investors bracing for earnings reports from several big banks later in the week, while Portuguese oil firm Galp soared to a 16year high following a positive update to its gas exploration in Namibia.

The pancontinent STOXX 600 was up 0.2 by 0828 GMT, supported by a 0.3 gain in banking stocks.

Earnings reports from European lenders will be in the spotlight this week as investors are likely to get a clearer picture of whether higher interest rates are still boosting profits or if a yearlong share price rally will run out of steam.

BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Lloyds will report earnings later in the week.

We39;re seeing stabilisation and growth. While lending might sequentially pick up and nonperforming loans might continue to be relatively low, net interest margins are coming down, said Maximilian Kunkel, chief investment officer, Global Family Institutional Wealth at UBS.

On the other side, we39;re also seeing that capital markets are opening up again and there is an increase in mergers and acquisitions activity.

Overall, quarterly earnings are expected to decline 12.1 from a yearago period, according to LSEG data on Tuesday.

Galp Energia said its Mopane field off the coast of Namibia could have at…