FX.co ★ European Markets Take a Breather After Record Highs

Major European stock markets commenced the week with a sense of caution, as both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 indices hovered close to their previous record highs reached last Friday. Investors were particularly attentive to political developments worldwide. In France, the appointment of Roland Lescure as the new finance minister by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stood out, with opposition parties hinting at potential challenges to the government should it fail to deviate from Macron's earlier policies. Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, the right-wing populist Andrej Babiš secured a victory in the parliamentary elections, while in Japan, the effective confirmation of Sanae Takaichi as the next premier raised expectations for renewed fiscal stimulus and the continuation of lenient monetary policies. Sector-wise, the oil and gas industry led the gains, in contrast to a weaker performance by household goods. On the corporate spectrum, ASML Holding saw its shares rise by 1.7%, and Munich Re experienced a gain exceeding 1%. Conversely, LVMH, AXA, BNP Paribas, and Société Générale faced notable declines with respective losses of 1%, 1.6%, 1.9%, and 2.2%.