European stock markets extend losses amid France protests

Mass street demonstrations in France trigger partial curfews, while turmoil spreads to Italy with truckers protesting gas prices, driving up bond yields and sliding equities as benchmark indexes continue downward trajectory into Tuesday

European benchmark indexes extended the negative trend to Tuesday amid mass demonstrations in France that erupted over the weekend. The Stoxx 600 index was down 0.42% at 636.9 points as of 10:30 a.m. in local time. Germany’s DAX 40 declined 0.66% from its previous close to 25,150, while Italy’s FTSE MIB 30 was down 0.59% at 48,803, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.31% to 7,845, and Spain’s IBEX 35 decreased 0.08% to 19,024 points. Beyond the eurozone, the UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.28% to 10,734 points. Escalating protests in France spread to some other European countries, fueling risk perception. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu instructed local authorities to impose partial curfews on Monday in select areas. Meanwhile in Italy, truck and semi-truck drivers started protesting rising fuel prices by blocking road and port entrances in souther regions. US President Donald Trump blamed “migrants, jihadists, and communists” for the unrest in France, speaking at a Kansas rally on Monday, following his remarks that the “very sad situation (…) has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything.” As massive protests intensify in the region, Paris announced a special support fund to support local authorities in rebuilding damaged public property and buildings. At the same time, France’s 10-year bond yield rose 14 basis points to 4.94%, and the yield spread between the French and German 10-year bonds widened to 148 basis points. The euro is maintaining its recovery against the US dollar despite ongoing risks, as the exchange rate climbed by a meager 0.2% to 1.1234.