The European markets continued to underperform global peers following the French political turmoil, although the euro rebounded from a two-year low against the dollar. The European stock markets continued to be under pressure, weighed down by both global uncertainties and French political turmoil. In contrast, the post-Trump rally continued on Wall Street, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new highs.
In Asia, equities were mixed as the Australian markets hit another record, and the Chinese markets were higher amid stimulus optimism. However, Japanese stocks were on a negative note. In commodities, both gold and crude oil slid following ceasefire talks in the Middle East.
In currencies, the US dollar’s rally stalled following sliding US government bond yields. The euro rebounded from a two-year low against the dollar. However, the Canadian dollar and Mexican Peso weakened after Trump vowed to impose 25% tariffs on goods from both countries.
Major European benchmarks were mixed this week, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index declining 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 slipping by 2%, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.6%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.
2%. The French stock markets rebounded on Thursday after Prime Minister Michel Barnier scrapped plans to raise taxes on electricity, alleviating concerns about a government collapse following pressure from the far-right National Rally (NR) party. However, uncertainties persist as the NR demands further concessions on the budget.