DAX, CAC, FTSE100, European Stocks Slide on Fed Tensions and French Political Uncertainty

European equity markets traded mostly lower on Tuesday, as concerns over central bank independence in the U.S. and growing political risks in France weighed on sentiment.

Investor unease deepened after U.S. President Donald Trump took the rare step of attempting to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, raising questions about the Fed’s autonomy.

In France, government bonds came under pressure after Prime Minister François Bayrou announced a September 8 confidence vote tied to his proposed austerity program. Leaders of key opposition parties quickly signaled they would not support the government, heightening fears of political instability.

On the economic front, U.K. shop price inflation accelerated in August, reaching its highest level since March of last year. According to the British Retail Consortium, overall shop price growth rose to 0.9% from 0.7% in July, driven largely by food inflation climbing to 4.2% from 4.0%.

By late morning trading, France’s CAC 40 was down 1.3%, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 had slipped 0.4%, and Germany’s DAX was off 0.3%.

Among individual movers:

• Bunzl (LSE:BNZL) gained after the distribution group announced two acquisitions in Spain and Mexico.
• Halma (LSE:HLMA) also advanced following its £129 million purchase of Dutch gyroscopic systems specialist Brownline.
• Novartis (NYSE:NVS) rose in Zurich after the healthcare group revealed a new collaboration with Sweden’s BioArctic to develop therapies targeting severe neurological conditions.
• British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS) retreated after confirming that Chief Financial Officer Soraya Benchikh resigned with immediate effect after just over a year in the position.

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