European stocks surge after EU vote

LONDON: Europe's main stock markets rose Monday, brushing off the rise of eurosceptics in EU elections over the weekend, with Milan's FTSE Mib index of top companies surging 3.61 per cent to 21,494 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 hit a new record high gaining 1.28 per cent to 9,892.82 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.75 per cent to close at 4,526.93 points.
Trading in London, along with Wall Street, was closed for a holiday.
The euro, which had opened slightly down affected by weak data for the German economy on Friday, steading to $1.3639 from $1.3632 late on Friday. The euro rose to 139.02 yen from 138.91.The dollar was steady at 101.93 yen from 101.91.
Sterling was steady at 80.97 pence to the euro and firmed to $1.6844.
Markets in London were closed for a holiday, but Italy led European stock markets in a robustly positive reaction to the election outcome overall.
The Italian FTSE Mib index leapt ahead in Milan by 3.04 percent in morning trading to 21,377 points, led by banking shares.
In Frankfurt, the main German DAX index opened with a gain of 0.60 percent to 9,826.91 points.
And in Paris, where the far right and anti-EU National Front made a big breakthrough, the CAC 40 index gained 0.45 percent to 4,513.51 points.
Investors also took account of the victory in a presidential election in Ukraine of pro-West chocolate tycoon Petro Porochenko.
At Berenberg bank, economist Holger Schmieding commented that the overall European election results outcome showed very mixed results "with good and bad news for markets roughly balanced", according to projections of the final results.
The results in France, "the sick man of Europe", may make it difficult for reformist Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls "to push his agenda of expenditure cuts to ease the tax burden that is stifling the French economy", but "we do not expect his government to fall".