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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