- Euroskeptic and far-right parties have made strong gains in some countries in elections for the European parliament as voters expressed resentment at the EU and the severe austerity it has promoted.
- A stand-out result is the 25% that the anti-euro Front National won in France, where President François Hollande's Socialists received just 14%.
- In Britain, UKIP, which wants the country to leave the EU, took the most votes with a share of more than 27%. Anti-EU parties also did well in Greece and Denmark.
- Markets seem to be fairly sanguine about the results, with the euro +0.1% at $1.3638.
- In Italy, the center-left ruling Democrat Party, led by new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, won 41% of the vote. "The outcome is...likely to delight the markets, where investors can be expected to see it as a resounding vote of confidence in the 39 year-old prime minister, his youthful cabinet and their ambitious program of political and economic reforms," writes the Economist's Charlemagne column. The FTSE Mib is +2.5%.
- Euro Stoxx 600 +0.35%, London closed, Paris +0.7%, Frankfurt +1.5%, Madrid +0.7%.
- ETFs: GREK, EWI, EU, EWU, EWQ, EDEN, IFEU, EWUS, ITLY, ITLT, FKU, DXPS, DBUK