Last week, France’s CAC 40 fell 6.2%, its worst drop in more than two years, while Germany’s DAX fell 1.4%.
European Union (EU) leaders met at a dinner summit to assess the results of the European Parliament elections and consider candidates for the EU’s top job.
Elections held June 6-9 have tipped the European Parliament to the right, with voters dealing a major blow to the ruling parties of France and Germany and investors worried that could weaken the European Union, stall fiscal planning and ultimately hurt France’s ability to repay its debts.
Recent elections have also rocked markets in Mexico, India and other countries.
In Asian markets, stocks were mostly lower as China kept its key lending rate unchanged and said factory production slowed in May, while the property market remained sluggish.
Tokyo’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.8% to 38,102.44 and Seoul’s KOSPI dropped 0.5% to 2,744.10. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 7,700.30.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended flat at 17,936.12, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 3,015.89.
China’s factory output fell 5.6% in May, government data showed, less than analysts expected and slowing from 6.7% growth in the previous month. Retail sales rose just 4.1% in the first five months of the year.
Overshadowing these lackluster figures, property investment fell 10% in May from a year earlier, while house prices in major cities fell 3.2%.
Property sales plunged 30.5% year-on-year, further evidence that a series of measures to turn around the ailing real estate sector have yet to have an effect.
Most Southeast Asian markets were closed for public holidays, but Thailand’s SET fell 1.8 percent ahead of several key rulings expected on Tuesday in cases against the ruling party and its allies.
Early Monday morning, S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%.
U.S. stocks hovered near record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow down 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 17,688.88, up 0.1% from a record high hit the previous day, helped by gains in technology stocks.
U.S. stocks are hitting new records on growing hopes that inflation is slowing and that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates later this year, while big technology stocks continue to soar with little regard for what’s happening in the economy or interest rates.
In other trading on Monday, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 8 cents to $77.97 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 6 cents to $82.56 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.68 yen from 157.39 yen. The euro rose to 1.0713 dollars from 1.0705 dollars.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
