Here’s What Analysts Are Saying About the First Round of French Elections
Future of France: Macron and Le Pen Go Head-to-Head
How do you say “risk-on” in French?
Investors are cheering the results of the first round of voting in France’s presidential elections after centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen emerged victorious from the five-way race. The result triggered a relief rally in European stocks and sent the euro jumping by the most in a month on the expectation that Macron is set to become France’s next president in a vote seen as a barometer for the future of the European Union. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures also surged as much as 1.1 percent while safe haven assets such as gold and the yen slumped.
Macron and Le Pen are set for a runoff election on May 7. Macron, a first-time candidate and independent, is expected to defeat Le Pen by a wide margin with 62 percent of the vote according to a snap Ipsos poll for France Television.