European stocks edged lower as investors sold the fact after Macron's victory

European stocks slipped on Monday after the pro-European Union candidate Emmanuel Macron secured the French presidency comfortably in the final round of elections on Sunday. The fact that the markets have been pricing this expectation for the past two weeks following the first round of voting, triggered a profit taking on Monday and pushed the most of the major European equities lower.

"Given that Macron's election win was fully expected by markets, early price movements show a small degree of profit taking," Darren Ruane, head of fixed interest at Investec Wealth & Investment told CNBC. The pan-European Stoxx 600 lost 0.13% to 394.04. The German DAX Index slipped 22.34 points, or 0.18%, to 12694.55, France's CAC 40 lost nearly 1% to 5382.95. The only exception of the day was the UK FTSE 100 Index as it was able to add 3 points, or 0.04%, to 7,300.50 points. 

Theresa May's Conservative Party's solid performance in the recent election polls seems to be the main catalyst behind the FTSE Index's move. 

Headlines from the European session:

• The Guardian poll: Conservatives with 22 point lead over Labour
• Fitch: French election reduces political risk; challenges ahead
• Germany’s Merkel: Changing German policy to help Macron isn’t priority - LiveSquawk
• France: Macron’s victory to prove mild comfort for markets - Rabobank
• France: Macron is the ultimate winner - BBH