New York (AFP) - The euro slid Monday to its lowest level against the dollar in 17 months on worries about France’s high debt and deficits, which have sent its government bond yields soaring.

But equities traded broadly higher despite the pressure of elevated bond yields, with the Nasdaq hitting a fresh record in New York.

The euro’s slide follows an underwhelming 2027 budget plan unveiled last week. This fanned concerns that French government spending will remain high ahead of next year’s presidential elections in which the far-right Marine Le Pen, seen as a fiscal populist, stands a chance of winning.

That has rattled bond investors at a time when interest rates – and hence borrowing costs – are rising in developed economies worldwide to combat inflation.

French debt is projected to rise to nearly 122 percent of the country’s GDP next year, despite billions of euros in planned spending cuts.

That has sent its 10-year government bond yield to 4.8 percent, the highest since the 2011 eurozone bond crisis.

A call for snap elections in Spain by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also surprised investors, after lawmakers rejected a hotly debated housing relief bill from his Socialist-led minority government.

“France had already been under pressure due to questions over fiscal credibility and political stability,” said Patrick Munnelly, market strategist at Tickmill Group.

“Spain now adds another layer of uncertainty,” he added. “Europe’s political risk is weighing on the euro.”

- Stocks advance -

Stocks meanwhile were broadly higher, with the tech-focused Nasdaq closing at a new record, driven by advances in stocks linked to artificial intelligence.

Shares in SpaceX jumped by 7.6 percent while those in Meta rose by 1.9 percent.

However, analysts worry the market’s gains are being driven by an increasingly narrow slice of stocks.

“The market appears increasingly fragile, but we are only eight days away from what many view as the official start of earnings season when many of the big banks report,” said Justin Bergner of Gabelli Funds.

Paris was dragged lower on worries about bond yields as well as a nearly 10 percent drop in Schneider Electric shares after the company unveiled a $22.6 billion all-cash deal to buy the US engineering software specialist PTC.

Oil prices ended lower Monday after an earlier agreement among G7 countries, in coordination with the International Energy Agency, to immediately release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil to ease supply concerns caused by the US-Iran war.

But Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser on Monday described oil stockpiles as “scarily thin” as the European winter looms.

Exports of Middle East oil, excluding Iran, surpassed their pre-war levels last week despite attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler.

However supplies of some products like diesel remain tight due to refineries damaged during the conflict in the Middle East as well as Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities.

- Key figures at around 2025 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 51,267.90 points (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 7,773.95 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.1 percent at 27,477.31 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 10,497.94 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,834.10 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP less than 0.1 percent at 25,254.21 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.4 percent at 69,946.86 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 24,040.34 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1217 from $1.1256 on Friday

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.99 yen from 157.87 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3221 from $1.3244

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.84 pence from 84.99 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.9 percent at $100.32 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $89.43 per barrel

burs-bcp-js-rl-bys/sla