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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.<\/p>\n
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<\/span>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Eurozone investor confidence worsened in July, with the corresponding index falling from 0.3 to -7.3.<\/p>\n The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent to 518.02 after falling 0.2 percent on Friday. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Marston’s surged 16 percent after the pub and hotel operator disposed of its 40 percent stake in its brewing joint venture with Carlsberg.<\/p>\n Energy giant BP Plc fell 1.3 percent and Shell shed 0.7 percent as crude prices slipped after rising for four weeks.<\/p>\n HgCapital Trust rose about 1 percent. The private equity trust has agreed to sell its remaining investment in business<\/span> software company TeamSystem.<\/p>\n French banks rallied, with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale rising 1-2 percent.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n