FX.co ★ European Stocks Close Lower

European stock markets saw mostly declining results on Monday as renewed political unrest in France reignited fears about fiscal stability in some of the Eurozone's largest economies. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 index fell by 0.3% to 5,633, while the pan-European STOXX 50 ended the day unchanged at 571. The financial markets were unsettled by the resignation of Prime Minister Lecornu, amid the French parliament's continued resistance to budgetary spending cuts. This occurred just weeks after Lecornu assumed office and a day following President Macron's announcement of a newly formed government. French banks and insurance companies experienced notable downturns due to the impact on their balance sheets caused by a decline in OATs, which also increased their liquidity ratios. Specifically, BNP Paribas saw a 3.5% decrease, and AXA slipped by 2.5%. Paris-listed luxury goods and industrial firms also underperformed, as seen with LVMH, Hermes, and EssilorLuxottica, all dropping over 2%. In contrast, stocks linked to artificial intelligence and computing infrastructure gained ground due to a new partnership between OpenAI and AMD, leading to a 2% increase for both ASML and Adyen.