Europe's STOXX climbs with bank earnings in focus; Galp jumps

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April 22 (Reuters) - European shares opened higher on Monday with investors bracing for earnings reports from several big banks, while Galp jumped to a 16-year high following a positive conclusion to its gas exploration in Namibia.

The pan-continent STOXX 600 added 0.5% by 0716 GMT, driven by a 0.5% gain in banks.

European bank earnings will be in the spotlight this week as investors will get a clearer picture of whether higher interest rates are still boosting profits or if a year-long share price rally will run out of steam.

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

Among top movers, Galp Energia surged 17% after the Portuguese firm said that the Mopane field off the coast of Namibia could have at least 10 billion barrels of oil.

Alstom gained 4.9% after the French train manufacturer agreed to sell its North American conventional rail signalling business to German rail systems manufacturer Knorr-Bremse AG for around 630 million euros ($671 million).

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)