Paris Under Terror Attack

The attack on the famed Champs-Élysées could bolster National Front leader Marine Le Pen's odds in the first round of France's presidential election, political analysts suggest.

Thursday's assault will reinforce security as the primary theme on voters' minds ahead of polls on Sunday. The right-wing Le Pen has strongly campaigned on security issues, and has called for an outright ban on immigration as a way to prevent radicalized youths from entering into the country.

A leading opinion poll, conducted earlier in the week, showed the more centrist Emmanuel Macron clinching the first round of vote. Last night’s shooting could now tilt the balance in Le Pen’s favour, adding to heightened volatility in European assets that has prevailed over the last two weeks.

As a result, CAC 40 futures are down in early Friday trade, and were last seen trending around 4950.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s monthly measure of manufacturing activity in the US Mid-Atlantic fell to a four-month low in April during the latest report. Its widely-followed manufacturing index fell to 22.0 from 32.8 in March, after hitting a 33-year peak of 43.3 in February.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast an April reading of 25.0.

The new orders index, a key gauge of future activity, also slid to 27.4 from 38.6 in March. The Philadelphia Fed figures are consistent with recent data that showed manufacturing has lost momentum after a post-election surge.

Figures released earlier in the week by the Federal Reserve mirrored this development after manufacturing output fell by -0.40% in March.

In a significant divergence from other major US equity benchmarks, Nasdaq futures are sitting just below the two-week high of 5455, hit during the prior trading session.