European stock markets have been trading in the green since their opening, but are not yet compensating for Friday's losses. Around 11:45 GMT, Paris rose by 1.08%, London by 0.93%, Frankfurt by 1.26% and Milan by 1.45%.

In New York, the Dow Jones is up 0.68% at the opening, the S&P 500 0.72% and the Nasdaq 0.42%, according to their futures contracts.

The takeover of "all deposits and loans" of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which went bankrupt in early March, by the US bank First Citizens seemed to be welcomed by investors.

"The resolution operation seems to have been conducted quickly and suggests that the banking system is more resilient than current fears," said Sebastian Paris Horvitz, research director at Banque Postale AM.

In addition, according to the financial news agency Bloomberg, the US authorities are considering extending an emergency lending measure for banks, which would give First Republic more time to strengthen its balance sheet. What "to avoid an acute banking crisis" according to investors, notes Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management.

In electronic trading before Wall Street opened, First Republic climbed 25 percent and First Citizens climbed 34 percent.

In Europe, the banking sector of the broader Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced by 1.50% around 11:40 GMT. The shares of Deutsche Bank (+4.71%), Commerzbank (+3.20%), BNP Paribas (+2.32%) and Barclays (+2.29%) recovered colors.

Other banks, such as Banco Sabadell (+0.46%), Société Générale (-0.13%) or Standard Chartered (+0.07%), were more mixed.

In Riyadh, the Saudi National Bank grabbed 0.55%, after the resignation of the chairman of the group, the largest shareholder of Credit Suisse before its acquisition at the beginning of the month.

In the bond market, sovereign debt securities were abandoned in favour of equities. The interest rate on the 10-year German government bond, which varies in the opposite direction of the bond price, stood at 2.23% around 11:40 GMT, against 2.12% at Friday's close.

However, bank shares remain below their pre-SVB bankruptcy levels. "The Treasury, the Fed and the political powers want to be reassuring about the current banking crisis, but the data of the US Federal Reserve, show strong tensions on the system," said Vincent Boy, analyst at IG France.

For many economists, the difficulties faced by banks in the face of the sharp rise in interest rates will lead to a tightening of bank lending conditions and risk slowing the economy further.

More than half of a panel of U.S. economists expect a recession in the United States in 2023, and nearly three-quarters of them see inflation remaining above 4 percent until the end of the year, according to a survey by the NABE federation of economists released Monday.

Novartis neat

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis climbed 6.98% in Zurich, after reporting positive results for its drug Kisqali used in the treatment of breast cancer.

In the oil and currency markets

Oil prices rebounded on Monday. The barrel of North Sea Brent for delivery in May gained 1.25% to $ 75.93, while the barrel of US WTI at the same maturity rose 1.20% to $ 70.09, around 11:40 GMT.

On the currency side, the euro gained 0.14% against the dollar to 1.0775 dollar per euro. The Swiss franc was in demand. It was worth $1.0914, up 0.38%.

© 2023 AFP