A measure of French bond risk posted its biggest drop since the 2020 pandemic as local markets rallied after the nation dodged a downgrade at Moody’s Ratings.

Risk aversion is set to dominate markets in coming weeks as investors seek shelter from higher interest rates and volatility around US midterm elections and the AI trade, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.

A record number of investors say they’re planning to curb exposure to French equities as the country’s political and fiscal stresses cast a shadow over regional stocks, according to a Bank of America Corp. poll.

Global investors chasing the AI-powered equity rally are the most exposed to technology stocks since the rebound from the Covid pandemic six years ago, according to a poll by Bank of America Corp.

A selloff in banking stocks is rarely comforting. But after three years of strong gains, the latest pullback in European lenders looks more like a reset than a crash.

Banks have been Europe’s best-performing stocks for two years, and were on pace for stellar gains again in 2026. The return of French debt worries is threatening to thwart the rally.

París enfrenta una factura creciente por su deuda justo cuando la política dificulta una solución. Los mercados se preparan para una volatilidad que podría prolongarse hasta las elecciones.

After decades of budget deficits and steadily rising debt, markets are putting a new price on French risk.

As the political stakes rise in France, the country’s equities are looking vulnerable. They are under-performing, under-owned and worst of all perhaps, Europe’s most unloved.

More than €2 billion ($2.3 billion) was wiped off the value of French airport and highway operators on Tuesday after the government said it’s considering higher taxes on transport infrastructure.

European stocks closed steady on Monday, ceding their earlier gains after 10-year Treasury yields climbed above 5.25%.

Corporate America’s blowout earnings are being underpinned by a robust economic outlook and the artificial intelligence boom, meaning worries about an “earnings bubble” are overblown, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists.

EssilorLuxottica SA, one of the best-rated blue chips in Europe, received a rare sell rating from broker Kepler Cheuvreux amid a stock-market rout that has seen the shares of the Ray-Ban maker lose 55% since November.

Europe’s highest natural gas prices in three years are causing stock-market professionals to size up the likely winners and losers as the continent heads into winter.

Investors should buy any dips in equities given a robust corporate earnings outlook, say JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists, who see the rally continuing despite the rise in global bond yields and inflation jitters.

European stocks posted their third weekly decline in four, as traders added to wagers on a US interest-rate hike following a hotter-than-expected jobs report.

A dramatic turnaround in technology stocks has powered a $3.5 trillion increase in the Nasdaq 100’s market capitalization in just four days, driven by strong earnings that have emboldened investors about the AI outlook.

Europe’s stock market is the only major region to have experienced a meaningful improvement in risk appetite in recent weeks, supported by fresh capital inflows and better-than-expected earnings, according to strategists at Citigroup Inc.

European stocks tested fresh highs, with consumer products and retail shares among the biggest gainers, as signs of easing tensions between the US and Iran pushed oil prices lower.

European shares erased Friday’s gains, as Novo Nordisk A/S slumped after a failed drug study and Universal Music Group NV sank to a record low on disappointing earnings.