Global shares resilient after Europe's elections

World markets took political upheaval in Europe largely in stride on Monday, a day after voters in Greece and France delivered strong mandates against austerity measures, with local equity markets up.

The results of the weekend elections in the two European countries heightened the uncertainty of the path ahead for the euro zone debt crisis. But most European stock markets rose, with the noted exception of Greece, and US stocks rose marginally, while the euro weakened only slightly.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.44 points, or 0.23 percent, to 13,008.83. The S&P 500 Index edged up 0.51 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,369.61. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.42 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,957.76.

Euro zone blue chips rallied in thin volume as banks led a technical rebound, strengthened by signs Spain was opening the door to using public funds to aid its troubled lenders.

The Euro STOXX 50 index closed 34.75 points higher, or 1.6 percent, at 2,283.09, having traded around 90 percent of its 90-day average as the UK and Irish markets were shut for public holidays.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average slid nearly 3 percent to its lowest close in three months after elections in Europe stoked worries about efforts to resolve the euro zone debt crisis and US jobs data disappointed.

The 2.8 percent drop in the Nikkei marked the index's biggest fall since Nov. 10, with a resurgent yen pummelling exporters such as Honda Motor and financial shares skidding as investors cut exposure to risky assets.

The benchmark Nikkei average closed down 261 points at 9,119.14. That was just below its 26-week moving average of 9,119.83, though it held above its 200-day moving average near 9,066. The broader Topix lost 2.6 percent to 772.06.