FTSE 100 up 0.45%; DAX up 0.42%; CAC 40 up 2.05% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 01 Jul - European shares opened higher, extending Friday's gains, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.78%.

France's blue-chip CAC 40 index soared, outperforming its regional peers with the country's major lenders leading the gains, after Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party scored historic gains in the first round of parliamentary election, but by a smaller margin than what some polls had suggested.

According to updated figures released today by France's Interior Ministry, the Rassemblement National and allies won 33% of the vote, followed by there 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 suggest that no one party has won an outright majority of at least 289 seats, pointing to a hung parliament.

The focus now shifts to next Sunday's runoff, which will be preceded by intense weeklong negotiations between the parties on how to join forces in each of France's 577 constituencies as the Rassemblement National is seen struggling for an absolute majority.

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.

President Emmanuel Macron called for a snap legislative vote in a political gamble after a crushing defeat for his party in the European Parliament elections.

Last Friday, the CAC 40 closed at its weakest level in more than five months.

At 0745 GMT the London FTSE 100 was up 0.45% at 8,201 points, the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.41% at 18,310 points, the Paris CAC 40 up 2.05% at 7,632 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was up 1.58% at 33,677 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was up 1.11% at 11,065 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 01-07-24 10:02:14 (0185) 5 NNNN