Euro Climbs After French Vote, CHina Shares Slip – Asia Market Wrap

The euro rose with European stock-index futures on anticipation that Marine Le Pen’s far-right party may struggle to gain an absolute majority in French elections, allaying market concerns that Europe’s second-largest economy was on track for a more radical policy shift.

Futures on French government bonds rose, but those on German bunds fell, after the first round of voting put Le Pen’s National Rally ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition, albeit less easily than some surveys predicted. A good showing for her party would have enhanced the likelihood of broad fiscal policy in France, where the deficit already exceeds what is allowed by European Union standards.

Asian stocks were divided, with South Korea’s benchmark rising with Japan’s Topix, but most Chinese companies fell.
Chinese stocks fell after a survey revealed that manufacturing activity declined for the second consecutive month in June. Hong Kong’s financial markets were closed for a holiday. China’s 10-year bond yield plummeted to a new low on concerns about the domestic economy.