European equity futures fell with Asian shares, and the euro weakened on concern about France’s post-election finances.
CAC 40 Index futures dropped, as did those for the Euro Stoxx 50 index after an unexpected victory by a left-wing coalition France’s legislative election.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was also lower, with the Shanghai share gauge extending its long-running decline due to the country’s lackluster economic momentum.
While France’s New Popular Front — which includes the Socialists — came first in the weekend vote, financial market losses were were tempered by news that no party won the majority needed to govern.
The outcome potentially constrains the influence of the left-wing coalition and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, both of which advocate increased public spending.
“France went from favoring the far-right to giving support to the far left,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, referring to the two rounds of voting a week apart. The French “are looking for solutions in two extremes and that’s not an ideal outcome.”
Bitcoin fell with other cryptocurrencies due to concern over possible sales of the token by creditors of the failed Mt. Gox exchange.
