European stocks closed sharply lower on Monday as a fresh wave of civil unrest deepened political uncertainty and sparked broad selloffs in major Eurozone bond markets. The Euro STOXX 50 slipped 1% to 6,141, while the STOXX Europe 600 declined 0.9% to 639.
Protests in France and Italy over rising living costs escalated into confrontations with security forces, darkening the outlook for both countries’ budget approvals ahead of next year’s elections. This comes at a time when rising yields across the Eurozone had already stoked fears of contagion in the bloc’s sovereign bond markets.
Financials led the decline, with Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Santander, UniCredit, and Intesa Sanpaolo all losing more than 2%. Industrial names also retreated, with Airbus and Rheinmetall falling close to 3%. By contrast, Hermès and SAP hovered near the flatline as investors looked ahead to their earnings reports later this week.