European stocks edged ahead on Monday, while French shares were slightly lower as investors digested Sunday’s election result that saw President Emmanuel Macron lose control of the country’s parliament.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.08% after a bruising week. US markets will be closed for a public holiday.
France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.08 after Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition failed to win a majority in the face of opposition from left-wing parties.
The country’s major banks, including Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole, slipped about 1% each.
French carmaker Renault topped the Stoxx after Jefferies upgraded the stock to “buy”.
Shares in building materials company Kingspan slumped after the company said the mood in most of its end markets had deteriorated over the last two months, with order intake volume “significantly” lower year-on-year.
Budget airline easyJet fell after announcing more flight cuts as the UK’s travel chaos showed no signs of abating.
