Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) said on Wednesday they had agreed to start talks on a possible coalition with Friedrich Merz's conservatives but stressed their support was not automatic and hit out at his negotiating style.

Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz, who came out on top in the snap election results, is aiming to close a coalition agreement with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD, which came third in the elections.

The centre-right party's leader Friedrich Merz said CDU and SPD are to enter talks to form a coalition, one day after the German election on Sunday. View on euronews

Provisional results confirm that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany's national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest.

Wall Street struggled for traction on Monday, ending mixed after slumping last week, while German election results buoyed German shares and Europe's single currency as investors waited for midweek results from artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia.

The results of Germany’s February 23 election have cemented a chilling trend that has increasingly characterized European politics in the 21st century: the collapse of social democracy and the subsequent resurgence of far right parties and movements,