Global market response to French vote — by the numbers

The response to the first round of the French election has been fierce across just about every asset class. FastFT rounds it up by the numbers.

2.09 cents – The euro’s rise against the US dollar at its high of the day. The gain has since moderated to 1.34 cents. At current levels, the gain would be the biggest on a per-cent basis since last June.

4.1 per cent – The rise in the CAC 40, France’s main stock barometer. It was on track to post the best day since August 25, 2015, Bloomberg data show. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 advanced 1.9 per cent, with German, Spanish and Italian stocks up more than 3 per cent.

€4.61bn – The trading volume in France’s benchmark sovereign bond, according to Trax, a MarketAxess company. For context, the average this month is €1.15bn*.

18.8 basis points – The tumble in the premium in yield on French benchmark 10-year bonds over Germany’s. German Bunds are one of the continent’s main haven assets, and a tighter spread indicates investors see declining relative risk emanating from France.

The spread tightened as a result of contracting French yields and rising German yields. (1 basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point).

430 – The number of stocks advancing on the S&P 500 (74 stocks were declining, and one was unchanged). The broad US stock gauge was up 1 per cent and poised for its best day since March 1. Economically sensitive stocks, like financials, materials and industrials, were leading the way higher. Defensives like real estate, utilities and telecommunication lagged behind.

*This post has been amended to correct the April average.