European stocks, euro retreat ahead of major elections / Photo: JUSTIN SULLIVAN - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
European stocks, euro retreat ahead of major elections
European stock markets and the euro retreated Tuesday on concerns about potential economic fallout should the far-right win power in France in weekend elections.
London was also lower and the pound traded mixed heading into a UK general election Thursday.
The dollar firmed as investors weighed the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency after last week's poor debate performance by incumbent Joe Biden.
"Political concerns continue to weigh on European stocks," noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
Candidates in France on Tuesday faced a deadline to register for the run-off round of a high-stakes parliamentary election, as President Emmanuel Macron's centrist camp and a left-wing alliance scrambled to prevent the far-right from taking power.
On Sunday, French voters go to polls for the decisive final round of the snap election Macron called after his camp received a drubbing in European elections last month.
His gamble appears to have backfired, with the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen scoring a victory in the first round of voting last Sunday.
Ahead of the vote, official data Tuesday showed eurozone inflation cooled in June -- but experts said it would be insufficient to convince the European Central Bank to accelerate its rate-cutting cycle despite sluggish economic growth.
Consumer prices have remained stubbornly above the ECB's two-percent target, although the return to easing inflation will no doubt be welcomed by officials.
Consumer price inflation in the single currency area came in at 2.5 percent in June, down from a 2.6-percent rate in May, the EU's statistics agency said.
There are meanwhile concerns about big spending plans promised by France's far-right should it become victorious.
In Britain, the main opposition Labour party is this week on course to end 14 years of power by the Conservatives and the premiership of Rishi Sunak.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Asia's main stock markets closed higher, with Hong Kong enjoying a rare surge after a recent run of losses.
Tokyo piled on more than one percent to end above 40,000 points for the first time since April.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,495.77 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.0 percent at 18,106.87
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,881.37
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,138.41
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 40,074.69 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 17,769.14 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 2,997.01 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 39,169.52 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0716 from $1.0743 on Monday
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.75 pence from 84.92 pence
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2645 from $1.2648
Dollar/yen: UP at 161.64 yen from 161.46 yen
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $87.25 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $83.98 per barrel
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A.Parmentier--JdB
