![Europe stocks drop on renewed French vote fears](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/a8/12/3a/Europe-stocks-drop-on-renewed-Frenc-717149.jpg)
-
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
![Europe stocks drop on renewed French vote fears](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/a8/12/3a/Europe-stocks-drop-on-renewed-Frenc-717149.jpg)
Europe stocks drop on renewed French vote fears
Europe's stock markets slid Tuesday as jitters resurfaced over impending French elections, with investors also unnerved by Wall Street losses although Asian indices mostly rose.
Traders digested another tough day for tech titans on Wall Street that raised concerns over a possible markets correction following a string of record highs.
"European markets have failed to maintain the positive momentum... with the growing concerns over this weekend's French election rather predictably helping to undermine any short-term strength," noted Shore Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.
"Coming off the back of a US session that had seen weakness across both the Nasdaq and S&P 500, that same downbeat tone appears to be evident in Europe."
The euro held its own against the dollar ahead of the first round of French elections this Sunday.
President Emmanuel Macron called the snap legislative polls after his centrist party was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) in European Parliament elections two weeks ago.
The unit remains supported even as some opinion polls show the RN leading, with a left-wing alliance in second and Macron's centrists third.
"The latest French polls show that the far-right National Rally party has widened its lead ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday," added City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.
"Meanwhile, President Macron's party is in third place. Political uncertainty is deepening, which could limit the euro's upside."
With US data indicating the world's top economy remains in rude health and the jobs market is still tight, investors are unsure about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates, with debate centred on when -- or even if -- it will cut this year.
The focus is now on the release Friday of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index -- the Fed's favoured inflation gauge -- with traders hoping for another slowdown that would give decision-makers room to start loosening policy.
Uncertainty surrounding rates has done little to hold back US equities as a blistering surge in tech giants -- fuelled by an explosion in all things linked to artificial intelligence -- has helped push the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to multiple records this year.
However, profit-taking and worries that the rally has gone too far has started to weigh on the sector, with the latest market darling Nvidia leading the losses by diving more than 15 percent from its high on Thursday.
It had briefly become the world's biggest publicly listed firm two days earlier, with a market capitalisation of more than $3.3 trillion.
Investors are also keeping tabs on Tokyo after Japan's top currency official warned authorities were ready 24 hours a day to intervene to support the yen as it sits around three-decade lows against the dollar.
The yen strengthened, having edged close to 160 to the dollar Monday on fading expectations for a US rate cut any time soon and the Bank of Japan's slow pace of tightening.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,264.48 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,646.32
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.1 percent at 18,131.55
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,926.40
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 39,173.15 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 18,072.90 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,950.00 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 39,411.21 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.41 yen from 159.63 yen on Monday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0723 from $1.0740
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.48 pence from 84.61 pence
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2694 from $1.2689
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $81.16 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $85.51 per barrel
burs-rfj/bcp/rl
V.F.Barreira--PC