CAC 40 Slides As Traders Pare Fed Cut Bets
(RTTNews) - French stocks fell sharply on Tuesday amid lingering Middle East concerns and reduced expectations of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
Meanwhile, France's trade deficit increased in August from a year ago as imports grew faster than exports, data released by the customs office showed today.
The trade deficit rose to EUR 7.4 billion in August from EUR 6.0 billion in July. The expected shortfall was EUR 5.5 billion. In the corresponding month last year, the trade deficit was EUR 8.1 billion.
Separate data from the Bank of France showed that the country's current account balance showed a deficit of EUR 0.6 billion in August versus a balanced figure in July.
The deficit in trade in goods widened to EUR 6.0 billion, while the surplus in trade in services increased EUR 5.3 billion.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 86 points, or 1.1 percent, at 7,490 after rising half a percent the previous day.
TotalEnergies SE, an energy and petroleum company, fell about 1 percent. The company said that it has inked a deal with Saint-Gobain to supply renewable electricity of 875GWh to Saint-Gobain's French facilities from January 2026 for over a period of five years.
China-linked luxury brands such as Kering, LVMH and Hermes International tumbled 3-7 percent after China's state planner announced no new plans for major stimulus.
Spirits maker Remy Cointreau plummeted 9.3 percent and Pernod Ricard lost 4.3 percent as China imposed temporary anti-dumping measures on brandy imports from the European Union.