by Calculated Risk on 4/22/2012 11:30:00 PM

From the NY Times: Hollande and Sarkozy Head to Runoff in French Race

The Socialist candidate, François Hollande, won a narrow victory in Sunday’s first round of France’s presidential elections, riding promises of economic growth and a general dislike for the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, into a favorable position before a runoff with Mr. Sarkozy on May 6.

The strong showing by the left and anger on the political extremes seemed to reflect a desire for change in France after 17 years of centrist, conservative presidents. And it could continue an anti-incumbency trend that began with the economic crisis in Western Europe, where center-right governments dominate from Britain to Spain to Germany.

It may also represent the first stirrings of a challenge to the German-dominated narrative of the euro crisis, which holds that public debt and runaway spending are the main culprits and that austerity must precede growth.

It sounds link Hollande is leading right now. The election in Greece is also scheduled for May 6th.

The Asian markets are mostly red tonight. The Nikkei is down about 0.3%, but the Shanghai Composite is up 0.5%.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P 500 futures are down slightly, and Dow futures are down 20.

Oil: WTI futures are down to $103.81 (this is down from $109.77 in February) and Brent is up to $118.79 per barrel.

Earlier:
• Summary for Week Ending April 20th
• Schedule for Week of April 22nd
• FOMC Meeting Preview