European shares edge lower after German election

PARIS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - European shares were slightly lower in early trade on Monday after the re-election of Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel and better-than-expected French macro data.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.18 percent at 1,260.37 points, while both Germany's DAX index (Xetra: ^GDAXI - news) and France's CAC 40 (Paris: ^FCHI - news) were down about 0.1 percent.

On Sunday, Angela Merkel won a landslide personal victory in Germany's election, although her conservatives appeared just short of the votes needed to rule on their own and may have to convince leftist rivals to join a coalition government.

"Her re-election is a sign of political stability and markets love stability. It's one less risk event to worry about," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities, in Paris.

"Her really good score will also give her room for manoeuvre, and hopefully we will see the focus for Europe shifting from austerity to stimulus. We're just getting out of the debt crisis. What we need now is measures to boost consumer spending."

Data showed on Monday French business activity grew in September for the first time since early 2012.