Paris stocks wobbled and the euro fell Monday as a budget standoff in France fueled concern about the eurozone’s second-biggest economy.
Positive data from China helped boost equity markets elsewhere, with Germany’s DAX index hitting a record above 19,900 points.
Oil prices rose on hopes of higher Chinese demand, while on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logged fresh records too.
The euro sat near 14-month lows as opposition to France’s belt-tightening draft budget threatens to topple the government.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier faces the risk of being deposed by a hostile parliament as his government presents a social security financing plan Monday that has the opposition up in arms.
Lacking a majority, Barnier used executive powers to force through the legislation without a vote.
The move exposes him to a no-confidence vote, likely on Wednesday, with the left wing and the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen saying they will back a motion bringing down the government.
Le Pen “has the power to destroy Barnier and his mission to get France on a sustainable fiscal track,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.
The yield on French government debt rose in another sign of investor concern. France must now pay as much to borrow for 10 years as Greece.
Paris stocks, which wobbled in afternoon trading, ended the day flat.
They were also weighed down by Stellantis, the multi-brand auto giant, whose shares fell more than six percent after chief executive Carlos Tavares abruptly resigned.
US stocks closed mostly higher, with Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital noting the market remains in good shape.
Among individual companies, Super Micro Computer surged 28.7 percent after a committee found “no evidence” of misconduct at the firm.
Shares in Intel slipped 0.5 percent after the chipmaker, which has struggled to tap into the growth of artificial intelligence that has fueled the rise of rival Nvidia, announced that chief executive Pat Gelsinger had retired.
Asian traders began the month on the front foot after a rollercoaster ride since Donald Trump’s reelection warning that he would hit China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs on his first day in office as US president.
Hong Kong and Shanghai were among the best performers after data showed that Chinese manufacturing activity expanded at a faster clip than expected in November.
The figures provided some hope that the world’s number-two economy was turning a corner after a lengthy slowdown, with analysts pointing to a raft of support measures unveiled at the end of September.
“The big unknown is whether the stimulus efforts will have a long-lasting effect or just a short-term boost,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
Tokyo rose and the yen held recent gains at around 150 per dollar on increasing bets of another Bank of Japan interest rate increase, after last week’s forecast-topping Tokyo inflation report.
BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said in an interview with the Nikkei business daily published Sunday that increases were “nearing in the sense that economic data are on track.”
Key figures around 2130 GMT
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,782.00 points (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,047.15 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 19,403.95 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 at 8,312.89 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,236.89 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.6 percent at 19,933.62 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 38,513.02 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 19,550.29 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,363.98 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0499 from $1.0580
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2654 from $1.2739
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.54 yen from 149.60 yen on Friday
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.97 from 83.04 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $71.83 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.10 per barrel
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