London — European shares opened sharply higher and the euro briefly vaulted to five-month peaks on Monday after the market’s favoured candidate won the first round of the French election, reducing the risk of another Brexit-like shock. The victory for pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron, who is now expected to beat right-wing rival Marine le Pen in a deciding vote in May, sent the pan-European Stoxx 50 index up 3%, France’s CA C40 almost 4% and bank stocks more than 6%. Traders top-sliced some of the euro’s overnight gains, but it was still up more than 1% on the dollar, more than 2% against the yen and 1.3% on the pound as the early flurry of deals subsided. "It [the first round result] has come out in line with the market’s expectations so you have something of a risk rally as there was a bit of a risk-premium built into all markets," said James Binny, head of currency at State Street Global Advisors. There was also an unwinding of safe-haven trades. Shorter-term German bonds saw thei...
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