France: Europe’s ‘least favoured’ stock market?

A Bank of America’s survey reveals a concerning trend for France. The fallout from president Macron’s decision to call a snap election has made french stocks the least favoured in Europe.

Bank’s latest poll of fund managers reveals that French equities are likely to be ‘underweight’ than any other stock in Europe in the next 1 year. This comes in stark contrast to May, when french stocks were the most popular. 

As defence spending gains tractions, most of the investors are now shifting to pro-defensive stocks & sectors. Investors are also expecting Macron’s party to lose further ground in a two-round vote scheduled for June 30 & July 7.

Citigroup has also downgraded french stocks to ‘neutral’ as investors turn less bullish on equity gains. Meanwhile, Barclays expects price action in European equities to remain ‘erratic’ amid ongoing elections.

France suffered a major stock slump last week, when stock index fell to a 2-year low, wiping out $258 billion in market capitalisation. These weekly losses erased all the benchmark gains for 2024. The stock had performed exceptionally, only trailing behind UK as the region’s largest stock market by value. Election volatility is clearly reflected in the recent performance of french stocks.

French 10-year bonds, a gauge of the nation’s risk, jumped to its biggest weekly record. The value still hovers near the highest since 2017.

BofA strategists said ‘France has turned into investors’ most unloved European equity market.’