German stocks lift European markets higher after election; Just Eat shares surge 53% – CNBC

Germany’s MDAX — which consists of Germany’s biggest midcap stocks — was up 2.3% at 11:57 a.m. London time, positioning the index for its largest daily gain since late 2023.

Fintech firm Hypoport led the gains on the index, up more than 8% during morning trade, while companies including TAG Immobilien, Evotec and Jungheinrich all gained more than 5%.

German bond yields and the euro inched higher after the outcome of Germany’s federal elections on Sunday.

Germany’s 10-year Bund climbed two basis points to 2.487%, while the 5-year Bund was up nearly two basis points to 2.254%.

Meanwhile, the Euro was up 0.21% against the dollar and 0.12% against the British Pound.

The moves came after Germany’s conservative alliance, which includes the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) secured the largest share of votes in the federal election.

This puts the party’s lead candidate Friedrich Merz in prime position to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor of Europe’s largest economy.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

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Germany’s Dax index was up 0.86% at 10:00 a.m. London time, paring losses seen earlier in Monday’s session.

Real estate firm Vonovia, utilities giant E.On and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall all gained around 4% during morning trade, while automakers Porsche, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz and BMW also saw gains.

— Chloe Taylor

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The U.K.’s National Grid announced Monday it had agreed to sell its U.S. onshore renewables business to private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management in a deal worth $1.74 billion.

The business being acquired by Brookfield develops, constructs and operates solar, onshore wind and battery storage assets in the United States.

— Chloe Taylor

The preliminary result of the German federal election points to a two-party coalition, according to Deutsche Bank — an outcome that could bolster the country’s defense spending.

After Germans cast their votes on Sunday, preliminary results showed the allied Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parties won the highest proportion of votes, with a combined 28.6%. The far-right AfD came second with 20.8% of the votes, while incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) came third with 16.4%.

In a note to clients on Monday, economists at German lender Deutsche Bank speculated that a two-party coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD is now the most likely outcome, with immigration and defense “the most immediate issues in coalition talks.”

“In our view, Europe’s challenged security architecture makes it highly likely for CDU/CSU and SPD to agree on higher defense spending in principle … Foreign policy developments over the last fortnight have provided a political pivot for both parties to commit to greater defense spending,” the economists wrote.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration in the U.S. has pressured European NATO allies to increase their spending on defense, with NATO Chief Mark Rutte suggesting member states could soon have a target of spending “at least” 3% of GDP on defense. In 2024, Germany spent an estimated 2.12% of GDP on defense, according to NATO data.

“Although a new target may be formulated only after the NATO summit in June, we would assume that defense spending will likely rise to at least 2.5% of GDP over the next term, with a meaningful increase as early as 2026,” Deutsche Bank’s economists said.

“The tricky question, however, is how to finance this. Any debt brake reform, including for defense spending, would rely on support from one of the fringe parties. This is not impossible, but it would require significant political compromises.”

— Chloe Taylor

Just Eat Takeaway said it was delisting its shares from the London Stock Exchange due to the “low liquidity and trading volumes” of its shares on the exchange.

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European food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com is poised to be acquired by Dutch technology investor Prosus in an all-cash deal worth roughly 4.1 billion euros ($4.3 billion).

“Acquiring Just Eat Takeaway.com provides a unique opportunity for Prosus to build a European food delivery champion and strengthen Prosus’ position in a key growth sector, complementing its existing food delivery footprint outside of Europe,” the companies said in a joint statement Monday.

Read the full story here.

— Sam Meredith

European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Monday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 10 points higher at 8,672, Germany’s DAX up 229 points at 22,486, France’s CAC up 16 points at 8,165 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 6 points lower at 38,506, according to data from IG.

There are no major earnings Monday.

Germany’s Ifo Institute is set to release its latest business climate survey.

— Holly Ellyatt