Bond Bashing Resumes, Euro Cheers Macron-Le Pen Clash

A man wearing a protective mask walks past an electronic board displaying Russian Trading System (RTS) Index, Japan's Nikkei index, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 25, 2022. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

LONDON—Bond markets suffered another sharp sell-off on Thursday as investors bet on aggressive global interest rate hikes, while the euro climbed after French President Emmanuel Macron bolstered his weekend re-election hopes in a heated TV debate.

MSCI’s world stocks index mustered only a modest move amid the prospect of higher global borrowing costs, but Paris stocks skipped nearly 2 percent higher after Wednesday evening’s clash between Macron and right rival Marine Le Pen.