Stocks rise as EU election results come in

Alexis Tsipras leads the far-left Syriza party in Greece. His anti-austerity party that has received roughly 27% of the vote.

European stock markets edged higher Monday as election results rolled in fromthe European Union and Ukraine.

Germany’s DAX index led the way with a 0.9% rise. Spain’s IBEX gained 0.8%, while France’s CAC 40 added 0.2%. The euro continued its decline against the dollar.

European Parliament election results show voters are increasingly turning their backs on the European Union, with many ‘euroskeptic’ parties gaining significant support in countries such as France, the U.K. and Greece.

Meanwhile, Ukrainians seem to be voting in favor of further integration with Europe. Billionaire Petro Poroshenko has declared himself the winner of the Ukrainian presidential elections after getting over 50% of the vote. The seasoned politician has been vocal about his pro-European Union views.

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The growing popularity of anti-EU protest parties on the far right and far left indicate a severe backlash against pan-European cooperation, European institutions and austerity measures.

In France, the far-right National Front party — which has rallied against the EU and immigration — has won a historic victory with 25% of the French vote, beating out more moderate pro-EU parties that dominated the elections five years ago. In the previous European elections, the National Front garnered just 6% of the vote.

In the United Kingdom, an increasingly prominent protest party that has loudly voiced its desire to get out of the EU won roughly 28% of the votes.

In Greece, the far-left Syriza party won roughly 27% of the vote.

The success of these anti-EU fringe parties could make for noisier Parliament debates and could complicate the passing of EU laws and appointments to the EU executive. It could also destabilize pro-EU governments in some countries and weaken the resolve of others to stick to painful economic reforms.

But this doesn’t necessarily spell the death of a united European Union. Results show the left-center and right-center parties will still hold a majority of seats in the European Parliament.

“After four years of a wrenching euro crisis, pro-European mainstream parties … will still have close to 70% of the seats in the EU parliament,” said Berenberg chief economist, Holger Schmieding. “Although it will be more difficult to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S., European institutions can function well with that result.”

According to European election officials on Monday morning, 85% of the votes across the 28 participating nations have been counted.

Stocks rise as EU election results come in