Investing.com -- European markets made further gains Thursday, with investors seemingly unconcerned about the political turmoil in France, expecting easier monetary policy by the European Central Bank.
Germany's DAX rose 0.8% and France's CAC 40 increased by 0.4%, while the UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.2%.
French PM Barnier set to resign
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday, and is expected to resign later Thursday, making him the shortest serving prime minister in modern French history. .
The motion succeeded with backing from the left-wing New Popular Front alliance and the far-right National Rally, following Barnier’s decision to bypass Parliament by invoking special constitutional powers to pass a contentious social security budget.
France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution allows special measures that would avert a U.S.-style government shutdown.
That said, this political uncertainty has only been met by relatively small moves in the markets, with the European Central Bank set to continue cutting interest rates next week. The market is also pricing in over 150 basis points of easings by the end of 2025.
Data released earlier Thursday showed that German factory orders fell 1.5% in October, while French industrial production also slipped on a monthly basis, suggesting weak growth ahead.
Shell and Equinor form UK joint venture
In corporate news, Shell (LON:SHEL) stock fell 1.3% and Equinor (OL:EQNR) stock fell 0.6% after the two energy companies announced plans to merge their British offshore oil and gas assets, creating what will become the U.K.’s largest independent energy company.
This partnership is poised to strengthen both companies' positions in the region's energy sector.
Vodafone (LON:VOD) stock rose 2.5% after the £15 billion merger between the UK telecoms giant and Three has been approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
To address previous concerns over potential price hikes and reduced service quality, the telecom firms have committed to investments in developing a shared 5G network across the country.
Oil prices steady; OPEC+ meeting in focus
Oil prices drifted slightly lowerThursday, with traders focusing on to latest meeting of top producers to discuss output levels.
By 11:45 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) fell 0.1% to $68.47 a barrel, while the Brent contract also fell 0.1% to $72.24 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, is widely expected to extend their latest round of oil production cuts later in the session, providing additional support for the oil market.
(Navamya Acharya and Peter Nursecontributed to this article.)