BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks eked out modest gains
on Monday after 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.

In economic releases, 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 today.

Exports posted a monthly fall of 3.6 percent, in contrast to the 1.7 percent
increase in April. At the same time, imports declined more deeply by 6.6
percent, reversing a 1.2 percent rise in April.

Eurozone investor confidence worsened in July, with the corresponding index
falling from 0.3 to -7.3.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent to 518.02 after falling 0.2 percent
on Friday.

The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both gained around 0.3 percent, while
France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent.

Britvic jumped 4.6 percent after Danish brewer Carlsberg agreed to acquire the
British soft drinks maker for 3.3 billion pounds ($4.23 billion). Shares of the
latter rallied 3.4 percent.

Marston's surged 16 percent after the pub and hotel operator disposed of its 40
percent stake in its brewing joint venture with Carlsberg.

Energy giant BP Plc fell 1.3 percent and Shell shed 0.7 percent as crude prices
slipped after rising for four weeks.

HgCapital Trust rose about 1 percent. The private equity trust has agreed to
sell its remaining investment in business software company TeamSystem.

French banks rallied, with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale
rising 1-2 percent.

Delivery Hero shares slumped 5.3 percent. The German online food takeaway firm
said it may face a fine above 400 million euros from Brussels due to antitrust
violations.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX