Paris Loses Crown as Europe’s Biggest Stock Market to London
- Political risk upends French stocks; UK is deemed attractive
- UK equities are world’s sixth biggest in terms of market cap
The Euronext stock exchange in Paris.
Photographer: Nathan Laine/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
France’s political upheaval has led Paris to lose its spot as Europe’s biggest equity market to London, less than two years after winning that title from the UK.
President Emmanuel Macron’s shock announcement of a snap election sparked a rout that wiped off about $258 billion from the market capitalization of French firms last week. Shares of banks Societe Generale SA, BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA — all big holders of government debt — lost more than 10% each.