Markets surge on French election result

Markets surged on Monday following the strong showing by centrist Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 jumped 2.1 percent, with the CAC 40 surging 4.1 percent.

Asian markets were mixed though. While the Nikkei jumped 1.4 percent, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.4 percent on worries over potential government action to reduce market risk.

Safe-haven assets like gold, the Japanese yen, and US Treasuries all fell. The CBOE Volatility Index dropped more than 25 percent to below 11, its largest one-day percentage drop since August 9, 2011.

“With Macron heavily favored in head-to-head polling against Le Pen, it seems most likely that the negative market scenarios—priced in over recent weeks—will recede between now and the runoff,” said Timothy Graf, head of macro strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at State Street Global Markets.