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Topdanmark ( TPDNF ) surges on Sampo buyout bid

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SSP Group ( SSPPF ) falls after GS downgrade

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STOXX 600 up 0.3%

(Updated at 0816 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Jesus Calero

June 17 (Reuters) - European shares advanced on Monday,

with banks and technology stocks rebounding from losses last

week after markets were startled by political uncertainty in

France, while Danish insurer Topdanmark ( TPDNF ) surged on Sampo's buyout

bid.

As of 0816 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up

0.3%, coming off its worst weekly percentage fall so far this

year.

Technology stocks led sectoral gains with a 1.6%

jump after falling nearly 2% last week, while European banks

advanced nearly 1% after tumbling more than 8% last

week.

European markets have been under pressure after President

Emmanuel Macron called for a snap election following a trouncing

of his ruling centrist party by Marine Le Pen's eurosceptic

National Rally in the European parliament elections.

"We're seeing the divergence between European and U.S.

equities become very clear ... France has evidenced the most

because of the snap election and the fear that right-wing

parties could be gathering more and more," said Daniela Hathorn,

a senior market analyst at Capital.com.

"There is a lot of indecision and a lot for the markets to

take in."

Most bourses in the region rose on the day, with France's

benchmark CAC 40 gaining 0.5% after falling more than 6%

last week.

In contrast, basic resources shed 0.7% as most metal

prices slipped after data showed top consumer China's industrial

output was weaker than expected in May.

Separately, Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP)

rose 0.2% month-on-month in May and were also up 0.8% from the

year earlier, confirming preliminary data.

Inflation data in the UK along with a broader euro zone

reading are due later this week, which is also packed with

interest rate decisions from central banks in Switzerland,

Norway and the UK.

Meanwhile, Wall Street bank Citi's global equity strategists

cut European equities to "neutral" from "overweight", citing

increased political risks after France's decision to call a snap

parliamentary election.

Among individual stocks, Topdanmark ( TPDNF ) jumped 20.4%

after Finnish insurer Sampo agreed to buy its Danish

rival in a deal that values the company at 33 billion crowns

($4.73 billion), the companies said. Sampo slumped nearly 3%.

Shares of ING, the largest Dutch lender by assets,

gained 2.5% after the bank forecast total income growth of

between 4% and 5% per year during 2024-2027.

British eateries operator SSP Group ( SSPPF ) slipped 3.7%

after Goldman Sachs downgraded it to "sell" from "neutral".

Adidas fell 1.5% after a report said that the

company has launched an investigation into allegations of

large-scale bribery in China.