New York (AFP) – European stock markets rebounded on Monday despite jitters over the first round of French elections taking place this weekend.
However, shares in Nvidia fell by more than six percent, its third straight drop, weighing on the Nasdaq.
“European markets are in recovery mode, with widespread gains taking shape,” said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.
“Despite ongoing concerns around this weekend’s French parliamentary election, French stocks are on the rise as investors buy the dip that saw the CAC lose almost 10 percent in a month,” he said, referring to the Paris benchmark stock index CAC 40.
President Emmanuel Macron threw markets into turmoil by calling the snap legislative polls after his centrist party was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) in European Parliament elections two weeks ago.
Certain opinion polls showed the RN garnering 35-36 percent of voting intentions for Sunday’s first round, ahead of a left-wing alliance and Macron’s centrists, who were in third place.
The second round will be held on July 7.
“The positive tone being taken by European markets could yet come into question as we get closer to this potential seismic shift in French politics,” cautioned Mahony.
This week’s calendar also includes the hotly-anticipated first debate in the US presidential contest between incumbent Joe Biden and predecessor Donald Trump. Investors meanwhile set aside a key survey showing that German business sentiment unexpectedly fell in June, pouring cold water on hopes Europe’s biggest economy is on course for a strong rebound.
“Today’s results add to the growing stream of indicators sending mixed signals on where the eurozone’s biggest economy is heading,” said Oxford Economics analyst Mateusz Urban.
– Nvidia struggles –
Wall Street’s main indices had a mixed session, with the Dow powering higher but both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreating.
“Some profit taking seems entirely reasonable given Nvidia’s meteoric rise,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, noting the stock was up over 180 percent this year alone.
“But if it continues to lose ground, then there’s a danger of contagion, with selling spreading to other big tech names,” he warned.
Morrison added that this could lead to a deeper and more protracted pullback for tech stocks.
“There’s some natural rotation just given how massive the outperformance between the big tech stocks and the artificial intelligence momentum plays has been relative to the broader market,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
“There’s just a kind of natural consolidation and rotation trade taking place there.”
Investors are also tracking developments in Japan as the yen struggles against the dollar, leading the country’s top currency official to warn that authorities were ready to step in to provide support as the unit hovers around three-decade lows.
– Key figures around 2030 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 39,411.21 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,447.87 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 17,496.82 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,281.55 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,706.89 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 18,325.58 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 4,950.98 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 38,804.65 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 18,027.71 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 2,963.10 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.63 yen from 159.80 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0740 from $1.0693
Euro/pound: UP at 84.61 pence from 84.56 pence
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2689 from $1.2645
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $81.63 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $86.01 per barrel
burs-jmb/bjt
© 2024 AFP
