Macron wins French presidency and the euro holds gains after a campaign watched closely by markets

Emmanuel Macron has been elected president of France, beating the National Front's Marine Le Pen by a wide margin in Sunday's runoff.

For financial markets, much of the relief came two weeks earlier. After the first round placed Macron in the runoff against Le Pen, the euro jumped and French bond spreads over German debt narrowed, as investors concluded that a centrist victory was the most likely outcome. The euro held near six-month highs against the dollar after the final result.

Le Pen had campaigned on leaving the euro and returning to a national currency, a position that raised questions about redenomination risk for French debt. That scenario is now off the table for this presidential term.

The result follows a year in which the Brexit vote and the US election both defied expectations. Some investors had hedged against a similar surprise in France, and those positions are now being unwound.

Macron's platform includes labour market reform and closer eurozone integration. Whether he can deliver will depend on June's parliamentary elections, where his newly formed movement needs to win enough seats to govern. For now, markets are treating the euro's political risk as lower than it has been since the start of the year.