Europe midday: Shares mixed with France, Spain in focus

(Sharecast News) - European stocks were mixed on Monday, with investors weighing political risk in France a snap election in Spain and eurozone survey data.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.29% to 633 at 1053 GMT. France's CAC 40 declined 0.91% to its lowest level in six months after French yields surged last week. Spain's IBEX jumped 0.79% as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for November 29, days after rightwing parties blocked his minority government's emergency measures on housing amid countrywide protests.

French equities were also hit by a sharp decline in Schneider Electric shares fell as the French firm agreed to buy PTC in an all-cash deal valuing the US software company's equity at around $22.6bn.

"Europe is taking the spotlight at the start of the week, as fiscal and political concerns hit the bloc. The euro is lower by 0.5% and is extending losses on Monday, and EUR/USD is back below $1.12, its lowest level since May 2025," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.

"France is the epicentre of the concerns, however Spain is also set to get ready for an early election, which is adding to investor worries."

"The fact that French bonds and the euro sold off last week and the downward momentum could persist this week, is a sign that Europe is out of favour with investors and bond market vigilantes are watching developments in the Eurozone closely."

"There's going to be a lot of political change over the next six to nine months in Europe. That could make it very, very hard to get fiscal deficits down."

On the economics front, service-sector growth across the eurozone picked up as expected in September, according to the final estimates of the services purchasing managers' index released on Monday from S&P Global, sending business activity across the region to its highest in three and a half years.

The services PMI increased to 53.0 last month, up from 51.6 in August and matching the preliminary estimates released two weeks ago. This marked the highest rate of expansion - indicated by any reading above 50.0 - since November 2025.

A separate survey showed investor confidence in the single currency bloc slipped in October, with the Sentix index falling to 2.7 from 5.1 a month earlier, missing expectations for a steady reading. The decline was driven by a sharp drop in the expectations component to 8.8, while the current situation gauge held at 3.3.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com