European stocks rose the most in more than a week as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will receive French president-elect Francois Hollande with “open arms” as they work together to tackle the debt crisis.

Hollande defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy to become the first Socialist in 17 years to control Europe’s second-biggest economy. He pledged to push for less austerity and more growth in the region.

Greece’s political leaders struggled to find the support needed to form a coalition government after voters flocked to anti-bailout parties, calling into question the country’s ability to impose the measures needed to guarantee its future in the euro.

German factory orders rose more than forecast in March as demand from outside the euro area helped Europe’s largest economy weather the debt crisis. Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, jumped 2.2 percent from February, when they gained a revised 0.6 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said.

National benchmark indexes rose in 12 of the 16 western European markets open today. Spain’s IBEX 35 jumped 2.7 percent and Italy’s FTSE MIB rallied 2.6 percent. Germany’s DAX added 0.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 increased 1.7 percent, while Greece’s ASE plunged 6.7 percent.

U.K. and Irish markets were closed for a holiday.

BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, the biggest French lenders, gained 4.2 percent to 30.21 euros and 4 percent 17.99 euros, respectively, erasing earlier losses. The spread between German 10-year government bond yields and French yields on similar-maturity debt narrowed.

UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo rose 5.6 percent to 2.85 euros and 3.9 percent to 1.09 euros, respectively, as UBS kept its positive view of the lenders among Italian banks.

Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest lender, rallied 4.7 percent to 4.90 euros. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA advanced 5.4 percent to 5.29 euros.

Lafarge SA, the world’s biggest cement maker, increased 4 percent to 30.50 euros. Analysts at Citigroup Inc., Helvea AG and Equita SIM SpA upgraded the shares.

U.S. stocks swung between gains and losses, following the biggest weekly decline in 2012, as investors weighed Francois Hollande’s election as France’s president and Greek voters flocking to anti-bailout parties.

French Socialist Hollande, who defeated Nicolas Sarkozy, pledged to push for less austerity. His victory may sharpen tensions with key allies with Hollande advocating a more aggressive European Central Bank role. In Greece, the poll cast doubt on whether the two main parties can put together a government strong enough to implement spending cuts.

Banks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained as Warren Buffett said the nation’s lenders have “liquidity coming out of their ears” and are in better shape than European rivals.

American International Group Inc. fell 4.3 percent as the U.S. Treasury Department sold $5 billion of shares.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) rose 1.3 percent as the movie “Marvel’s The Avengers” earned a record $200.3 million in its opening weekend.

Resistance 3:1402 (May 3 high)

Resistance 2:1388 (area of May 4 high and МА (200) for Н1)

Resistance 1:1366 (session high)

Current price: 1365,45

Support 1:1354/2 (area of low of April)

Support 2:1342 (session low)

Support 3:1330 (38,2 % FIBO 1197-1420)

U.S. stock futures fell after Francois Hollande’s election as France’s president and Greek voters flocking to anti-bailout parties spurred concern about Europe’s debt crisis.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  9,119.14 -261.11 -2.78%

Hang Seng 20,536.65 -549.35 -2.61%

Shanghai Composite 2,451.95 -0.07 0.00%

CAC  3,174.61 +12.64 +0.40%

DAX 6,529.81 -31.66 -0.48%

Crude oil $97.72 (-0.78%).

Gold $1638.70 (-0.40%).

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index heading for its biggest decline in six months, after U.S. employers added fewer jobs than forecast and amid concern Europe’s debt crisis may worsen after Socialist Francois Hollande was elected president of France.

Nikkei 225 9,119.14 -261.11 -2.78%

Hang Seng 20,512.09 -573.91 -2.72%

S&P/ASX 200 4,301.3 -94.74 -2.16%

Shanghai Composite 2,451.95 -0.07 0.00%

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s No. 1 maker of mobile phones by sales, dropped 2.4 percent in Seoul.

Sony Corp. sank 4 percent, leading losses among Japanese exporters on concern a weaker euro will damp the repatriated value of sales from Europe.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company and Australia’s biggest oil producer, lost 3.7 percent as crude oil and copper futures fell.