The UK's main stock market has reclaimed its position as Europe’s most valuable for the first time in nearly two years, recent data reveals. On Monday, the total value

of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) reached $3.18 trillion, surpassing the $3.13 trillion total value of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data.

Although the valuations of both markets have fluctuated since then and remain close, analysts consider this a significant milestone. They attribute the decline in the French market to uncertainty surrounding its recent election, while noting that the UK market is recovering after years of underperformance.

The LSE had been Europe's largest stock market for many years until November 2022, when it was overtaken by Paris. Analysts at that time pointed to factors such as the fallout from former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ mini-Budget, a weak pound, recession fears, and the impacts of Brexit as reasons for the LSE's underperformance.

In 2016, the LSE was valued at about $1.4 trillion more than its Parisian counterpart. Photo by Kaihsu Tai, Wikimedia commons.