Paris overtakes London as Europe’s largest stock market

 

London has been stripped of its crown as Europe’s largest stock market after being leapfrogged by Paris as recession jitters hurt UK stocks. 

The market value of stocks in Paris has edged ahead of those in London in dollar terms after wiping out a $1.4 trillion (£1.2 trillion) gap since the Brexit vote, calculations by Bloomberg revealed. 

The pound’s plunge versus the dollar, recession worries hitting UK-focused stocks and the rebound of France’s heavyweight luxury shares, including LVMH, have caused the reversal. In addition, the value of British stocks in dollars has been hit by sterling sinking by more than 13pc against the greenback this year, hobbled by growing recession fears and the market backlash to “Trussonomics”. 

Graham Secker, stocks strategist at Morgan Stanley, warned that UK stocks could suffer next year as the economic backdrop deteriorates significantly. Meanwhile, French stocks have rebounded in recent months, led by luxury goods giant LVMH, the highest valued company on the Paris stock market.