(Reuters) – European shares rose on Monday as banks pared back some of last week’s losses and Denmark’s Topdanmark jumped on news of insurer Sampo’s offer to buy all of its rival’s shares.
The pan-European index was up 0.4% as of 0709 GMT, breaking its worst weekly percentage drop this year.
The technology subindex led sector gains, rising 1.2%, while European banks gained more than 1%.
European shares came under pressure last week when President Emmanuel Macron called for early elections following the rout of his ruling centrist party by Marine Le Pen’s eurosceptic Rally National in European Parliament elections.
40 initially gained 0.6% after falling more than 6% last week.
Topdanmark shares jumped 21% after Finnish insurer Sampo agreed to buy its Danish rival in a deal that values the company at 33 billion crowns ($4.73 billion), both companies said. Sampo fell almost 3%.
Shares in ING, the largest Dutch lender by assets, rose 2.1% after the bank forecast overall earnings growth of 4% to 5% a year over 2024-2027.