Investing.com - European stock markets were sharply lower on Monday, as market sentiment waned amid renewed concerns over the handling of the debt crisis in the euro zone following Sunday’s elections in Greece and France.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.59%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.53%, while Germany’s DAX 30 plunged 1.62%.
Markets were jittery after neither of the two Greek pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a majority in parliament, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against the harsh government austerity program, throwing the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt.
Meanwhile, in France President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate François Hollande, who has been critical of the country's austerity program.
Hollande had said that, if elected, he would force banks to split retail and “speculative” investment operations, pledged a tax on all transactions, a 15% increase in levies on profits and a ban on awarding stock options to executives.
Financial stocks led losses, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dove 3.24% and 3.04%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 2.28% and 1.96% respectively.
French insurance group Axa also plunged 2.98% as it was set to shut its investment arm Axa Financial in a move expected to lessen competition in the market.
Markets in the U.K. remained closed due to a national holiday.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to fall of 0.76%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.84% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.81% loss.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish a report on investor confidence, while Germany was to publish official data on factory orders.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.59%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.53%, while Germany’s DAX 30 plunged 1.62%.
Markets were jittery after neither of the two Greek pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a majority in parliament, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against the harsh government austerity program, throwing the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt.
Meanwhile, in France President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate François Hollande, who has been critical of the country's austerity program.
Hollande had said that, if elected, he would force banks to split retail and “speculative” investment operations, pledged a tax on all transactions, a 15% increase in levies on profits and a ban on awarding stock options to executives.
Financial stocks led losses, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dove 3.24% and 3.04%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 2.28% and 1.96% respectively.
French insurance group Axa also plunged 2.98% as it was set to shut its investment arm Axa Financial in a move expected to lessen competition in the market.
Markets in the U.K. remained closed due to a national holiday.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to fall of 0.76%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.84% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.81% loss.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish a report on investor confidence, while Germany was to publish official data on factory orders.