BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday, and the major markets in the region closed slightly down, as investors reacted to the results of French parliamentary elections, and awaited Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony this week for clues on U.S. central bank's policy path.
A left-wing alliance won the most seats in the French parliament, thwarting the far right in a stunning result to Sunday's second-round vote.
However, no single political faction got even close to the majority needed to form a government, creating political mayhem that has undermined the president's power and shaken the foundations of the European Union's second-largest economy.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.03%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.13%, France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.63% and Germany's DAX settled 0.02% down. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.38%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Russia ended weak.
Denmark, Greece, Poland, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Austria and Spain ended flat.
In the UK market, Beazley rallied more than 3.5%. B&M European Value Retail climbed nearly 2%. Convatec Group, Coca-Cola, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Prudential, Natwest Group, EasyJet, Associated British Foods, Lloyds Banking Group, Burberry Group and Admiral Group gained 1 to 2%.
Britvic jumped 4.7% after Danish brewer Carlsberg agreed to acquire the British soft drinks maker for 3.3 billion pounds ($4.23 billion).
Marston's surged nearly 14% after the pub and hotel operator disposed of its 40% stake in its brewing joint venture with Carlsberg.
Schrodders, Centrica, Fresnilla, Sage Group, BP, Airtel Africa, Howden Joinery, SSE, Croda International, Segro, Halma, Anglo American Pc, Londonmetric Property, Antofagasta and BT Group lost 1 to 2%.
In the German market, Munich RE and Hannover Rueck both gained about 3%. Siemens Energy climbed nearly 2%. Porsche, Rheinmetall, HeidelbergCement and Beiersdorf gained 1.2 to 1.6%.
Delivery Hero shares slumped more than 7%. The German online food takeaway firm said it may face a fine above 400 million euros from Brussels due to antitrust violations.
Puma, RWE, Continental, E.ON, Qiagen, Deutsche Bank, Vonovia and Zalando lost 1 to 2%.
In the French market, Safran, Sanofi, Accor, Bouygues and Saint Gobain posted sharp to moderate gains.
Teleperformance ended more than 4% down. LVMH, Kering, Eurofins Scientific, Edenred, BNP Paribas, Pernod Ricard, Veolia, ArcelorMittal, Hermes International, Societe Generale, L'Oreal and TotalEnergies lost 1 to 3%.
In economic news, Germany's exports declined for the first time in three months in May as demand from China and the United States weakened, data published by Destatis showed.
Exports posted a monthly fall of 3.6%, in contrast to the 1.7% increase in April. At the same time, imports declined more deeply by 6.6%, reversing a 1.2% rise in April.
Euro area investor sentiment lost its recovery trend and fell sharply in July as both the current situation and expectations worsened amid geopolitical worries. The investor confidence index dropped to -7.3 in July from +0.3 in June.
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