BNP Paribas, Societe Generale outperformance continues ahead of French election - For more see the European equities LiveMarkets blog
LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Live coverage of European markets now available on cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
Summary:
**French banks among top CAC 40 gainers, presidential election first round imminent
**Steel miners rally after downbeat week
**Software (IOB: 0NJS.IL - news) tops STOXX on Q1 beat
**WS Atkins (Frankfurt: 912859 - news) hits record high on SNC (Shenzhen: 002246.SZ - news) -Lavalin buyout
**Reckitt Benckiser (Xetra: A0M1W6 - news) lags consumer giant peers
**Record (LSE: REC.L - news) high for ASM International (LSE: 0NX3.L - news) after Q1 results
**Saipem (LSE: 0NWY.L - news) defends results, among top Italian risers
**European shares set for weekly loss (Reporting by Helen Reid)