FTSE up 0.53%; DAX up 0.81%; CAC 40 up 1.03% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 24 Jun - European shares closed broadly higher as investors looked past recent concerns tied to the outcome of elections in France.

Last week, European markets sold off after French president Emmanuel Macron announced snap elections following the results of the European parliament elections. Ahead of this weekend's vote, Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party and its allies were seen leading with 35.5% of the vote, according to a poll published yesterday.

Meanwhile the first US presidential debate is scheduled for Thursday.

Traders also looked for fresh direction after a string of central bank meetings last week.

Last week the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at a 16-year high of 5.25%, as widely expected, while the the Swiss National Bank cut rates by 25 basis points to 1.25%.

The Norges Bank, Norway's central bank, said it decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.5% and is likely to keep it at this level until the end of the year, before gradually reducing it.

Traders are now bracing for fresh economic data and interest rate decisions from Sweden's and Turkey's central banks this week.

On the data front, the business climate indicator in Germany fell to 88.6 points in June 2024 from 89.3 points the previous month, according to the latest survey released by the Ifo think tank.

The figure was below economists' expectations for a reading of 89.6. "The German economy is having difficulty overcoming stagnation," Ifo said. The current conditions indicator stood at 88.3 in June while the indicator that measures expectations came in at 89.0.

The London FTSE 100 closed up 0.53% at 8,281.55 points, the Frankfurt DAX added 0.81% at 18,332.50 points, the Paris CAC 40 rose 1.03% at 7,706.89 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB gained 1.58% at 33,834.91 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 closed 1.28% higher at 11,174.23 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 24-06-24 18:04:12 (0533) 5 NNNN