European stocks end mostly up, led by insurance gains

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - European stock markets ended the first trading day of the week with gains, led by insurance companies, with the exception of France, as investors awaited the balance sheets of companies for the first quarter of the year.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.16%, or 0.88 points to close at 537.31.

Stoxx 600's insurance index rose 1.02% on the day.

Germany's DAX 40 index soared 1.12% to 23,344.54 points, and Italy's FTSE MIB 30 index climbed 0.39% to 38,475.55.

On the other hand, France's CAC 40 fell 0.55% to close at 7,727.93 points.

In the UK, markets were closed Monday due to a bank holiday.

Among company shares, oil giant Shell's shares traded in Amsterdam fell 1.9% following news that the company is evaluating the potential acquisition of rival BP.

Austria's Erste Group Bank purchased around 49% of Poland-based Santander Bank Polska and 50% of Polish asset management Santander TFI, according to a Monday announcement from Santander. Erste Group's stock ended the day 8.67% higher.

French satellite provider Eutelsat surged, closing the day 12.5% higher, following the announcement that Jean-François Fallacher, a former executive at telecom provider Orange, will take over as CEO on June 1.