07:42 AM EDT, 06/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked solidly lower midday Friday on mounting election and geopolitical storm-clouds.

In France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally party appeared to be gaining strength, possibly indicating a change in Paris and rattling investors. Major equity indices in France were down more than 2.5% in the early afternoon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said captured Ukrainian territories will be absorbed into Russian Federation to remain permanently under Moscow control, and scoffed at the pending "Summit on Peace in Ukraine" conference to be held by Western governments in Switzerland.

Food stocks bucked trends to gain, while bank and tech issues lagged.

Investors also eyed Wall Street futures flashing red, and uneven closes overnight on Asian exchanges.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 1.1% mid-session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was off 1.4%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 2.3%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index was off 0.5%, but the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index inclined 0.4%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 1.2%, but the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index declined 1%.

On the other national market indexes, Germany's DAX was down 1.4%, the FTSE 100 in London was down 0.4%, and Spain's IBEX 35 lost 1.4%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were lower, near 2.37%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were up 0.2% to $82.92 per barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index jumped 29.3% to 21.66, swinging into the red zone and indicating above-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a negative signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.