Europe close: Stocks give up early gains

Most European bourses ended Monday's session little changed, but in the red, as investors digested the political stalemate in France, where no party managed to garner a majority in the second round of elections to the National Assembly at the weekend.

New signature for euro banknotes

Source: Sharecast

France's Cac-40 on the other hand finished noticeably lower, while Milan's FTSE Mib edged up 0.17% to 34,046.54.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 meanwhile was down by 0.03% to 516.43 and Spain's Ibex 35 by 0.01% to 11,022.10.

Investors had initially bid shares in Paris higher, with sentiment buoyed by a poor result for the far-right National Rally and a better-than-expected one for president Emmanuel Macron's centrists.

However, the first-place result for the left-wing alliance, New Popular Front, did come as a shock to some.

"While it began the week in a good mood, the FTSE 100, along with other European markets, has seen its gains slip away," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"While the lack of a clear immediate winner from France’s elections provided a short boost this morning, that optimism has been hard to sustain. France’s budget problems still need to be solved, and Sunday’s result doesn’t provide much hope that a resolution can be found quickly."

Analysts at JP Morgan were in a similar frame of mind, telling clients: "The main takeaway at this stage is that the house is very split. A hung parliament has no precedent in the current institutional regime, and it is unclear how this political sequence resolves in the short term."

In equity news, Carlsberg shares rose as the Danish brewing giant said its sweetened £3.3bn offer for Robinsons barley water maker Britvic had been accepted. Shares in the takeover target also rose on the news.

Ocado was up as the online grocery group said it was planning to build a third customer fulfilment centre in Japan as part of its ongoing partnership with Japanese peer AEON.

Shares in Delivery Hero slumped 7% after the German online food takeaway firm said it may face a fine of more than €400m due to competition law breaches.

Compare our accounts

If you're looking to grow your money over the longer term (5+ years), we have a range of investment choices to help.

Lloyds Bank is not responsible for the content and accuracy of the Markets News articles. We may not share the views of the author. Understand the risks, please remember the value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invest. We don't provide advice so if you are in any doubt about buying and selling shares or making your own investment decisions we recommend you seek advice from a suitably qualified Financial Advisor. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Important legal information

Lloyds and Lloyds Bank are trading names of Halifax Share Dealing Limited. The Lloyds Bank Direct Investments Service is operated by Halifax Share Dealing Limited. Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2RG. Registered in England and Wales no. 3195646. Halifax Share Dealing Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN under registration number 183332. A Member of the London Stock Exchange and an HM Revenue & Customs Approved ISA Manager.

Logo Allfunds

The information contained within this website is provided by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd unless otherwise stated. The information is not intended to be advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any of the shares, companies or investment vehicles mentioned, nor is it information meant to be a research recommendation. This is a solution powered by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd incorporating their prices, data news, charts, fundamentals and investor tools on this site. Terms and conditions apply. Prices and trades are provided by Allfunds Digital, S.L.U. acting through its business division Digital Look Ltd and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

FE fundinfo Logo

Data provided by FE fundinfo. Care has been taken to ensure that the information is correct, but FE fundinfo neither warrants, represents nor guarantees the contents of information, nor does it accept any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any inconsistencies herein. Past performance does not predict future performance, it should not be the main or sole reason for making an investment decision. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise.

Refinitiv Logo

© 2025 Refinitiv, an LSEG business. All rights reserved.