In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.21 percent to 1,216.44. In Germany, however, the outcome of elections there on Sunday sent the Xetra Dax down 1.2 percent to 4,926.13.

The business community was especially disappointed that the candidate and party they backed, Angela Merkel and the Christian Democratic Union party won only 3 more seats in parliament than did Gerhard Schroeder’s Social Democrats.

Two of the biggest losers were utilities Eon and RWE, which had stood to gain in the event of a big Christian Democratic win, as Ms. Merkel had promised to continue the use of nuclear power. Mr. Schroeder, on the other hand, plans to phase out the use of nuclear power over the next 20 years. RWE lost 3 percent to €55.22, while Eon fell by 2.3 percent to €77.74.

The semiconductor sector saw gains on the day. STMicroelectronics was up 0.8 percent to €14.27 as CSFB reiterated its rating of “outperform” and raised its stock target price from €15 to €16.50. Infineon had its rating upgraded to “outperform”, gained 0.6 percent to €7.98.

Deutsche Post lost 2.2 percent to €19.54 after it said it would purchase UK logistics company Exel for £3.7 billion (€5.47 billion) in a combination of shares and cash.