-
Messi a doubt for Argentina ahead of Copa quarter-final
-
British tennis ace Raducanu votes for 'lie-in' on election day
-
France film director Jacquot charged with raping two actors
-
Israel 'evaluating' new Hamas 'ideas' on halting Gaza war
-
Venezuela, US agree to 'improve relations,' says Caracas
-
Under-fire Kenya govt says to review state salary hikes
-
Thousands told to flee raging California wildfire
-
Osaka focuses on Olympics after Wimbledon KO
-
Tens of thousands flee south Gaza as tensions soar
-
US Fed officials stressed 'patience' on rate cuts: minutes
-
Blond not bombs as Fognini learns to love Wimbledon
-
New lithium plant inaugurated in Argentina
-
Threads hits 175 mn users on first anniversary
-
French court says Netflix shark hit can keep streaming in copycat row
-
Comeback king 'Cav' to carry on doing the thing he loves
-
Alcaraz marches on at Wimbledon as Osaka returns to Centre Court
-
Biden under pressure as Democratic panic rises
-
Belarus frees 'some political prisoners': exiled opposition leader
-
Alcaraz coasts into Wimbledon third round
-
Cavendish makes Tour de France history with 35th stage win
-
Everton sign forward Ndiaye from Marseille
-
Bailed Indian opposition leader to return as chief minister
-
World's oldest artwork discovered in Indonesian cave
-
Toney urges England to kick on after Euros reprieve
-
Murray teams up with Raducanu in Wimbledon mixed doubles
-
Former England rugby coach Jack Rowell dies aged 87
-
Hurricane Beryl bears down on Jamaica
-
US trade deficit expands less than expected in May: govt
-
'The god took away my son': Indians grieve after deadly stampede
-
Moscow hit by heat not seen in over a century
-
US private hiring eases unexpectedly in June: ADP
-
Confident Kroos says Germany-Spain clash 'won't be my last game'
-
Paris bars to open 24h for Olympics opening ceremony
-
Putin, Xi vie for influence at Central Asian summit
-
Germany, Sweden arrest eight over Syria crimes against humanity
-
French giant Mpetshi Perricard joins Wimbledon heavy artillery
-
Two-time Major winner Langer to make 'emotional' European Tour bow
-
French PM urges united front to stop far-right takeover
-
Olympic silver medallist gymnast Poujade dies at 51
-
Bhole Baba: preacher at centre of Indian stampede disaster
-
Microsoft to invest 2.2 bn euros in Spain data centres
-
Showdowns, young guns and own goals as Euro 2024 head into quarter-finals
-
Russia advances in east, kills five in Dnipro strikes
-
France prosecutors request rape charges against film director
-
Schumacher blackmail suspects had 'family photos'
-
EU clears Lufthansa's proposed ITA Airways stake, with conditions
-
Indian World Cup winners head home after hurricane delay
-
120,000 'stolen' babies: Georgia's trafficking scandal
-
Only far right can win absolute majority, French PM warns
-
Turkey ride 'best save' and wave of emotion into Euros quarters
French stocks drag down European markets on election jitters
The Paris stock exchange slipped on Friday towards its worst week in more than two years and the euro fell, dragging down other European markets as investors fret over France's looming snap election.
Across the Atlantic, Wall Street's broad-based S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated after hitting record highs, following news of slowing inflation and Federal Reserve signals of an interest-rate cut later this year.
"Arguably, the weakness seen in European markets has created an excuse to do some selling," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said.
European markets have been roiled by French President Emmanuel Macron's stunning decision to call legislative elections after his centrist alliance was trounced by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally in last week's European Parliament elections.
Macron's election gambit has sparked a period of political uncertainty in Europe's second-biggest economy and across the European Union, where voting elsewhere saw a shift away from the centre.
Leading French left-wing politician Raphael Glucksmann on Friday threw his weight behind a new coalition of the left in the runup to the historic elections, while Le Pen pledged a national unity government if her party wins.
XTB trading platform analyst Kathleen Brooks said there could be "more volatility" in the lead-up to the first round of the French elections on June 30. The second round will be held July 7.
"The risk of a win for Marine Le Pen and a shift in parliamentary power in France to the hard right is fuelling the selloff in French stocks, and the selloff in French banks in particular," she said.
The French capital's benchmark CAC 40 stocks index tanked by more than two percent in afternoon deals on Friday.
It was down more than six percent for the week, closing in on its worst performance since March 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Milan stock exchange sank three percent, while the Frankfurt DAX shed 1.1 percent. Outside the eurozone, London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent.
The euro fell 0.6 percent to $1.0669.
In another sign of investors' concerns about the June 30 election, the yield on 10-year French sovereign bonds rose and the difference with Germany's own borrowing costs widened the most in years.
"Soaring borrowing costs are already hitting the French government, as the perceived risk attached to a potential victory for the far right pushed the cost of sovereign debt higher," warned Shore Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.
In Asia on Friday, the yen dropped against the dollar and Japanese shares rose after the Bank of Japan said it would trim its vast hoard of government bonds as part of a cautious move away from its long-running ultra-loose monetary policy.
The central bank also kept interest rates unchanged after a two-day meeting.
- Key figures around 1540 GMT -
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.2 percent at 7,536.81 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.1 percent at 18,074.74
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.5 percent at 4,864.17
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,173.26
New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,522.23
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,420.71
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.2 percent at 17,631.90
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 38,814.56 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 17,941.78 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,032.63 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0669 from $1.0746 on Thursday
Euro/pound: UP at 84.28 pence from 84.15 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.15 yen from 157.03 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2665 from $1.2766
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $78.84 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $83.11 per barrel
burs-lth/gil
Ferreira--PC