FTSE down 0.45%; DAX up 0.09%; CAC 40 down 0.26% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 05 Jul - European shares closed lower as markets looked ahead to Sunday's runoff vote in France after Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party last Sunday scored historic gains in the first round of the parliamentary election, but by a smaller margin than what some polls had suggested.

The Rassemblement National and allies won 33.1% of the vote, followed by the leftist New Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire) bloc with 28%, and president Emmanuel Macron's centrists trailing behind in third place with 20%.

The projections suggested that no one party has won an outright majority of at least 289 seats, pointing to a hung parliament. Both the far-right and the left-wing alliance have pledged big spending increases, sparking concerns over clashes with the EU as the country already struggles with high budget deficit, recently prompting the EU to recommend disciplinary steps.

Markets also assessed yesterday's elections in the UK which saw the Labour Party end 14 years in power for the Conservative Party.

Keir Starmer, who is due to become the UK's new prime minister, has promised a 'national renewal' after 14 years of Conservative rule.

On the data front, German industrial production fell 2.5% on the month in May, while the French equivalent dropped 2.1%.

In May 2024 compared with the previous month, the seasonally adjusted retail trade volume in both the eurozone and the European Union (EU) increased by 0.1%, according to data from EU statistical office Eurostat.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.45% at 8,203.93 points, the Frankfurt DAX added 0.09% at 18,471.02 points, the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.26% at 7,675.62 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB dropped 0.35% at 33,987.67 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 closed 0.39% lower at 11,022.89 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 05-07-24 18:04:23 (0563) 5 NNNN