European stocks slipped on Monday, weighed down in part by fresh political upheaval in France that dented the country’s domestic stock market.
European stocks slipped on Monday, weighed down in part by fresh political upheaval in France that dented the country’s domestic stock market.
France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has unexpectedly resigned, with both allies and adversaries threatening to topple his government just hours after he appointed a fresh cabinet. The departure of Lecornu, a close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, deepens a recent bout of political turmoil in one of Europe’s largest economies.
By 04:04 ET (08:04 GMT), the CAC 40 in France had slumped by 2.1%. Meanwhile, the pan-European Stoxx 600 had fallen by 0.4%, the DAX in Germany shed 0.2%, and the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom dipped by 0.2%.
Banks in the Eurozone currency area were among the biggest laggards, led lower by shares in French lenders like BNP Paribas (EPA:BNPP), Societe Generale (EPA:SOGN), and Credit Agricole (EPA:CAGR).
Still, energy stocks helped to mitigate any of the declines, thanks to a spike in oil prices following a smaller-than-anticipated OPEC+ output hike announcement over the weekend. The technology sector also moved broadly higher, driven by a more than 1% uptick in shares of semicondcutor titan ASML.
Elsewhere, shares of SEB shed more than 22% of its value after the French kitchenware manufacturer slashed its annual sales and profit outlook, citing pressure on demand from a "wait and see" attitude among U.S. consumers and businesses.
British luxury car name Aston Martin has flagged that it would post a deeper full-year loss, as the company grapples with weak demand in North America and Asia Pacific as well as elevated U.S. tariffs.