European shares edged higher on Monday, recouping some of last week’s losses, while French equities came under pressure from fiscal concerns and losses in Schneider Electric following its $22.6 billion acquisition of US software company PTC.
The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.2% to 632.42 points by 0720 GMT, with most major regional indexes trading flat to higher. The index was coming off its biggest weekly loss in a month as surging bond yields fuelled concerns over inflation and worsening fiscal outlooks.
France’s CAC 40 fell 0.8%, while the euro slid to a 17-month low as investors worried about the country’s debt burden and political gridlock ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Shares of Schneider Electric dropped 7.2% after the French engineering company struck its biggest deal ever.
Spanish stocks were largely steady after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election for November 29.
Mining stocks rose 0.5% as precious-metal prices advanced after softer-than-expected US jobs data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged this month.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
