French banks avoiding the worst for now
CAC40 up 1.4%, STOXX 600 up 0.3%
French election result in focus
US futures steady
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FRENCH BANKS AVOIDING THE WORST FOR NOW
The result of the first round of the French elections, pointing to declining odds of an absolute majority for either the far right or the far left, has swept the clouds away from the markets on Monday, with French banks rising between 3% and 5%.
If no one manages a majority, it would limit the scope of noteworthy changes to legislation, and AlphaValue analyst Sylvain Perret sees "an improved scenario for the banks' asset quality with less risks to economic growth", alongside declining risks for French government bonds.
Banking stocks have still taken a blow though. Since June 9, when French President Emmanuel Macron called surprise snap elections in response to his camp's defeat in EU elections, BNP Paribas BNPP.PA shares are down almost 8%, Credit Agricole CAGR.PA around 10% and Societe Generale SOGN.PA 12%, and that's even after Monday's gains.
Morningstar bank analyst Johann Scholtz pointed out that significant uncertainty remains around the outcome of the elections and there could be ongoing near-term volatility in French banks' shares.
"There is probably a lot of short covering on French banking stocks this morning", he added.
ING's global head of macro Carsten Brzeski also believes that the turbulence for French banks may not be over in the coming days when markets start to understand that chances for National Rally to gain an absolute majority are still relatively high.
"A lot will now depend on the political horse-trading between the Left-wing populists and Macron. Completely unclear what the economic policy price for such a horse-trading will be", he said.
(Matteo Allievi)
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For Monday's earlier live markets posts
SKEWED RISK FROM PAYROLLS CLICK HERE
FRENCH STOCKS BOUNCE BACK, BUT STILL BELOW EARLY JUNE LEVELS CLICK HERE
FRENCH STOCKS SET TO RALLY AFTER FIRST ROUND OF VOTING CLICK HERE
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