European stocks started the week on a strong footing, with the STOXX 50 climbing 0.9% and the STOXX 600 up 0.5%, both trading at fresh record highs. The rally mirrored a positive global backdrop that began last Friday and was further reinforced by gains in Japan, following a historic election victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Healthcare stocks were higher, with Novo Nordisk surging around 8% and Novartis rising 0.9% after Hims & Hers announced it would withdraw its copycat weight-loss drug from the market. Other notable gainers included ASML Holding (+0.7%), HSBC (+0.6%), AstraZeneca (+0.8%), SAP (+1.3%) and Rheinmetall (+2.4%). Also, UniCredit jumped about 5% after upgrading its profit outlook, while InPost soared more than 13% after news that a consortium led by Advent and FedEx agreed to acquire the company. On the downside, Vinci slipped 1% and NatWest dropped nearly 4% following reports that the bank is closing in on a GBP 2.5 billion takeover of Evelyn Partners.