European Shares Inch Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks were slightly higher on Monday ahead of the crucial French confidence vote later in the day, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou facing almost certain defeat.

Investors shrugged off the results of a survey, which showed that investor morale in the euro zone plunged in September to its lowest level since April.

The Sentix index for the region unexpectedly fell to -9.2 in September from -3.7 in August.

Elsewhere, Germany's industrial output expanded for the first time in four months in July, figures from Destatis showed.

Industrial production rose 1.3 percent month-on-month in July, reversing June's stable decrease of 0.1 percent, mainly driven by a 9.5 percent growth in the manufacture of machinery and equipment.

Separate data revealed that Germany's foreign trade surplus decreased in July as exports fell faster than imports.

Exports posted a monthly decrease of 0.6 percent in July, reversing a 1.1 percent recovery in June. Imports dropped slightly by 0.1 percent after rising 4.1 percent in a month ago.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 percent at 550.24 after ending 0.2 percent lower on Friday.

The German DAX climbed 0.6 percent, France's CA 40 edged up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent.

In corporate news, Swedish medical technology company Elekta AB rose about 1 percent after naming a new Chief Financial Officer.

British insurer Phoenix Group Holdings slumped 5.6 percent after announcing interim results for the first half of 2025.

Homebuilder Vistry rallied 3.4 percent after it entered into a partnership with Homes England, a housing and regeneration agency, to accelerate development of large-scale sites across England.