European equities fell on Monday, pressured by renewed political turmoil in France, which rattled domestic markets.
France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu unexpectedly resigned, just hours after naming a new cabinet, with both allies and opponents threatening to bring down his government. Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, leaves the country facing heightened political instability in one of Europe’s largest economies.
By 08:04 GMT, France’s CAC 40 had dropped 2.1%, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.4%. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2%.
Eurozone banks were among the hardest hit, led by French lenders such as BNP Paribas (EU:BNP), Societe Generale (EU:GLE), and Credit Agricole (EU:ACA).
Energy stocks offered some relief, buoyed by rising oil prices after OPEC+ announced a smaller-than-expected output increase over the weekend. The technology sector also saw gains, helped by a more than 1% rise in shares of semiconductor giant ASML (EU:ASML).
Shares of French kitchenware maker SEB (EU:SK) plunged more than 22% after it cut its annual sales and profit guidance, attributing the downgrade to weaker demand amid a “wait and see” approach among U.S. consumers and businesses.
Meanwhile, British luxury carmaker Aston Martin (LSE:AML) indicated that it expects a deeper full-year loss due to sluggish demand in North America and the Asia-Pacific region, compounded by higher U.S. tariffs.
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