Euro and European Stocks Surge on French Election Results

European markets reacted positively to the results of the first round of parliamentary voting in France, with the euro strengthening on the foreign exchange market and stocks opening higher on Monday. Marine Le Pen's National Rally secured the lead in the election, but with a smaller margin than anticipated by pre-election polls. Analysts and investors are now assessing the likelihood of the far-right party securing an outright majority in the second round next Sunday.

According to the final results, Le Pen's party garnered 33.15% of the vote, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front coalition at 28.14%, and President Emmanuel Macron's Together! party in third place with 21.27%. Currently, the National Rally holds 32 out of 577 seats in the French parliament, with the remaining seats up for grabs in the second round on July 7, where opposition parties are expected to unite against Le Pen's candidates.

The euro saw a rise of approximately 0.45% to USD 1.0760, reflecting optimism in the currency market following the election outcome. In early trading, the French stock index CAC40 surged by 2.4% on the Paris stock exchange. Notably, banking shares performed robustly, with Credit Agricole up by 5.6%, BNP Paribas by 5%, and Societe Generale by 8%.

Across broader European markets, the Stoxx 600 index climbed by 1%, Germany's DAX advanced by 0.82%, Spain's Ibex-35 rose by 1.56%, and Italy's MIB gained nearly 2%. Meanwhile, the yield spread between French and German 10-year bonds, a key indicator of market confidence in French debt, narrowed to 0.74 percentage points in early trading on Monday, signaling reduced perceived risk compared to levels seen during the eurozone debt crisis in 2012.