America News Agency

The left-wing New Popular Front won the largest number of seats in the final round of voting, scuppering an expected surge for the far-right. However, the alliance failed to secure an absolute majority, meaning a coalition or technocratic government is on the cards, making legislation and reforms harder to pass.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.05 percent at 10:15 a.m. in London. Oil and gas stocks led losses, down by 0.9 percent. BP fell 3.5 percent after the oil major said in a trading statement it expected a second-quarter earnings hit of $1 billion to $2 billion from impairments, and $500 million to $700 million due to “significantly lower realized refining margins.”

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index defied the broader European trend to trade 0.2 percent higher. That follows last week’s emphatic victory for the left-of-centre Labour Party, seen as broadly supportive of U.K. assets and sectors, particularly house builders.

Meanwhile, the Paris CAC 40 index was 0.5 percent lower as traders continued to assess the implications of a hung parliament and a potentially prolonged period of political uncertainty in France.

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Tuesday. U.S. stock futures changed a little on Monday night after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh record highs on Monday.