French parliamentary election's first round aligns with polls
|Markets
Core bonds sold off into the final trading hours last Friday. We didn’t spot an obvious reason underpinning the move. Economic data (US PCE deflators, national inflation figures of certain EU member states) printed bang in line with expectations. But a looming weekend full of event risk (first round of French parliamentary elections) coinciding with the end of the quarter resulted in overall jittery markets. US Treasuries by the end of the day underperformed Bunds. Yields erased previous losses of as much as 4.5 bps to close between 4.2 (2-yr) and 13.3 (30-yr) bps higher. German yields added 2.6 to 5.5 bps across the curve. Stocks struggled in Europe. The French CAC40 underperformed (-0.7%). Wall Street turned south immediately after opening higher. The dollar and the euro balanced each other out. EUR/USD finished slightly higher north of 1.07. USD/JPY rose towards a new 34-yr high (160.88).
Yesterday’s outcome of the first round in the French parliamentary elections turned out to be in line with the polls. Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) secured the most votes (33.3%) with the left-wing NFP coming in second (28.3%). Macron’s Ensemble (ENS) was third (21.3%). Some 75 MPs were already elected in the first round. Because of the exceptionally high voter turnout (67.5%) there are currently around 300 constituencies (representing 52% of the 577 seats) that potentially face a three-way run-off in the second round Sunday, July 7. Comparing this just one in 2017 and 8 in 2022 underscores the still high level of uncertainty after the first round. This number will probably go down a bit still amid suggestions from leaders of NFP and ENS for third-placed candidates to tactically withdraw in specific situations. But the local candidates do not always heed these calls. We’ll know about the final list of candidates by Tuesday evening. Both of the above parties already gave voter recommendations as well but here too a lot depends on how the public responds to them. In any case, it’s too soon to draw firm conclusions. However, based on the exit polls and this morning’s constructive market reaction, the probability of a hung parliament (where none of the extremes can push through its agenda via an absolute majority) seems to have increased. EUR/USD rises towards 1.076, European stock futures point to an opening rally of almost 2% and Bund yields are set for gapping higher. The economic calendar today features German inflation numbers ahead of tomorrow’s EMU print. ECB president Lagarde kicks off its Sintra conference with an introductory speech tonight. We have circled Wednesday in red, with “Drivers of equilibrium interest rates” as one of the hot topics.
News and views
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