Paris (AFP)

The Paris stock market held up slightly Monday mid-session (+ 0.24%), obscuring the new contraction of the manufacturing sector in the euro zone, in a reduced volume of activity due to the closure of US markets.

At 14:21 (12H21 GMT), the CAC 40 was up 13.08 points to 5,493.56 points, in a trade volume of 693.6 million euros. Friday, he had ended on a technical rebound (+ 0.56%).

The Parisian coast opened to balance before climbing parsimoniously.

"The trade war has naturally been a backdrop to the evolution of financial markets for many months and it is not over," says Franklin Pichard, Managing Director of Kiplink Finance.

Washington and Beijing implemented on Sunday their new customs duties on goods imported reciprocally.

"Despite the introduction of new US customs tariffs for China, September could be an exciting time for the stock market," say analysts Saxo Bank in a note.

"Between the turmoil related to the Chinese yuan and the trade war in August and the prospect of + no-deal + Brexit in October, the month of September will be that of central banks and the revival of the printing press," according to them.

The European Central Bank will hold its monetary policy meeting on 12 September and the US Federal Reserve will follow suit on 18 September.

Manufacturing activity in the euro zone contracted again in August, for the seventh month in a row, with the PMI index standing at 47 points, in line with expectations. This indicator could put pressure on the ECB to decide in favor of further monetary easing.

In Great Britain, the PMI fell to a seven-year low in August, suffering from the global economic slowdown and the Brexit outlook.

The week promises to be crucial across the Channel. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to exclude members of his conservative camp who would try to block an exit without agreement from the European Union, hardening the tone on the eve of the return to parliament.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier ruled Sunday to renegotiate the divorce agreement with the UK, reinforcing the assumption of a tough Brexit on 31 October.

In Asia, the political crisis was growing on Monday in Hong Kong, where thousands of students dressed in black protested after a weekend of protests among the most violent since the beginning of the movement.

© 2019 AFP