Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse continued to decline slightly (-0.21%) Thursday at midday, returning to more caution in the aftermath of an annual record, while continuing to follow assiduously the evolution of the health crisis.

At 1:25 p.m., the CAC 40 index lost 13.09 points to 6,098.15 points. The day before, it had finished up 0.90%.

The Parisian rating has registered a slight decline since the start of the session.

For its part, Wall Street was moving towards an opening in the same trend. The futures contract for the flagship Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.18%, that of the broader S&P 500 index by 0.17% and that of the highly technological Nasdaq by 0.20%.

"China has lowered its rates in response to the coronavirus" but this gesture "had been widely expected" while the announcement of new cases in Japan in particular "reinjects a little caution in the midst of the exuberance of the past few days", a observed Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.

China announced Thursday a dramatic drop in new coronavirus contaminations, but the situation is getting worse in Japan with the death of two ex-cruise lines from the quarantined Diamond Princess.

Beijing also further pushed the fires in support of the economy with a drop of a tenth of a point from one of its benchmark interest rates.

In terms of indicators, the morale of German consumers should decline slightly in March against the coronavirus, according to the GfK barometer published Thursday. In France, inflation remained stable in January at 1.5% over one year.

Across the Atlantic, the Philadelphia manufacturing activity index for February is also on the agenda.

- Eramet and Vallourec dive -

In the field of values, Eramet plunged 12.87% to 32.89 euros, penalized by the publication of a net loss of 184 million euros in 2019 and the prospects that promise to be further complicated for this year.

Vallourec sank 7.19% to 2.21 euros, after the announcement of a capital increase of 800 million euros which raises many questions among investors.

Axa lost 3.39% to 24.51 euros, weighted by a net profit below expectations even if it jumped 80% in 2019, thanks to a general increase in its activities.

Schneider Electric rose 7.75% to 104.95 euros, supported by another record year in 2019, with net profit up 3.4%.

Air-France-KLM suffered (-4.75% to 9.27 euros) from a net profit down 31% for 2019, weighed down by fuel and air freight. The group is entering 2020 with the threat of the coronavirus, the impact of which is estimated by April between 150 and 200 million euros.

Bouygues garnered 3.43% to 40.75 euros, driven by results above expectations despite a decline in net profit in 2019, after exceptional items having inflated a year earlier.

Nexans fell 2.77% to 48.41 euros, weakened by a net loss of 118 million euros in 2019 following restructuring charges.

© 2020 AFP