When Euro 2024 kicked off last night in Germany, it wasn’t just football that took a kick.
Stocks across the region were also being looted, especially those on the Paris Stock Exchange amid political uncertainty in France.
Following last weekend’s European elections, which saw a shift to the far right, French President Emmanuel Macron shocked the country and the continent by immediately calling early parliamentary elections.
The move spooked investors and continues to shake global markets amid fears that the success of Marine Le Pen’s far-right national rally will lead to lavish spending, economic instability and a potential debt crisis.
France’s main stock index, the CAC 40, fell 2.7 percent, having recorded its worst daily performance since July last year in the previous session. As UK investors also face uncertainty over the election and the outlook for interest rates, the FTSE 100 index posted its fifth consecutive week of losses, its longest streak in the red since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
A man with a plan?: French President Emmanuel Macron shocked the country and the continent by immediately calling early parliamentary elections.
The blue-chip index fell 0.2 percent, or 16.81 points, to 8,146.86.
The FTSE 250 index fell 0.4 per cent, or 75.59 points, to 20120.36, recording a third consecutive week of losses.
BT shares rose again as the Carlos Slim effect continued. The Mexican telecommunications billionaire revealed after markets closed on Wednesday that he had acquired a 3.2 percent stake in the company.
It sent the shares up 4 per cent when trading resumed on Thursday and gained another 3.4 per cent, or 4.55 pence, to 139.55 pence yesterday.
Burberry lost 4.2 per cent, or 43.3 pence, to 980.2 pence, under pressure as European luxury stocks slumped amid worries about demand following a report that some brands are making big discounts on their products in China.
However, Legal & General gained on the FTSE 100, adding 0.5 per cent, or 1p, to 224.7p, as analysts at Bank of America raised their rating on the insurance group to “buy”. from “neutral”, although they cut their share price. target at 268p from 275p.
The update came after L&G boss Antonio Simoes this week revealed plans to take a more aggressive approach with the company’s revamp.
Simoes, who joined the company in January from Santander, wants to sell construction company Cala, merge divisions and initiate a £200m share buyback.
Among small caps, Renalytix gained 18.5 percent, or 3 pence, to 19.25 pence after it was confirmed that its kidney disease prognostic tool is covered by Medicare, the federal health insurance program from the US, allowing the test to be rolled out in the US to US.
Harworth Group added 2.5 per cent, or 3.5p, to 142p. The property developer, which specializes in brownfield regeneration, said it has secured planning permission from North Yorkshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee for the development of a major rail-connected industrial and logistics hub at its Gascoigne Interchange site in 185 acres in Leeds.