European shares gain, French stocks lag on fiscal worries

European shares edged higher on Monday, recovering some of last week's losses, while French equities faced pressure from fiscal concerns. The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.2% to 632.42 points by 0720 GMT, with most regional indexes trading flat to higher. The index had experienced its biggest weekly loss in a month due to rising bond yields fueling inflation and fiscal outlook worries.

France's CAC 40 fell 0.8%, with the euro also sliding to a 17-month low as investors worried about the country's debt burden and political gridlock ahead of next year's presidential election. Shares of Schneider Electric dropped 7.2% after the French engineering company announced its largest-ever deal, the $22.6 billion acquisition of US software company PTC.

Spanish stocks remained largely steady after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for a snap election on November 29. Mining stocks saw a rise of 0.5%, supported by advancing precious-metal prices, which were influenced by softer-than-expected US jobs data that reinforced expectations of the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady this month.