Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse fell again at midday on Thursday (-0.21%), overtaken by fears linked to the progression of the virus despite the relief generated by the massive plan announced by the ECB.

At 1:51 p.m. (12:51 p.m. GMT), the CAC 40 index fell by 7.83 points to 3,747.01 points. The day before, it had declined by 5.94%.

The rating jumped at the opening before declining gradually as the new coronavirus killed at least 9,020 people and that more than 217,510 cases of infection were detected in 157 countries, according to a report by AFP.

Wall Street was preparing to open lower, which weighed on European markets. The futures contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 1.58%, that of the broader S&P 500 index by 2.06% and that of the highly technological Nasdaq by 1.40%.

"The markets are in risk aversion mode because they have integrated" that the recession "will most certainly be unique in terms of magnitude" and in this context, it will "be very hard to reassure them, even by slipping amounts huge, "noted Christopher Dembik, head of economic research at Saxo Bank, AFP.

The European Central Bank has indeed released the big artillery on Wednesday with an "emergency" plan of 750 billion euros to try to contain the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

The Central Bank of Australia for its part reduced Thursday morning its main key rate by a quarter of a point, to 0.25%, its historic lowest.

Governments have not been outdone, starting with the United States: Donald Trump presented himself as a president "in time of war" while the first world power, which took a long time to launch the tests at Covid -19, now has more than 7,700 confirmed cases and 118 deaths. Two first elected members of Congress announced to be infected.

France, for its part, was preparing to introduce a "state of health emergency".

In the field of values, the aviation sector, among the most affected by the health crisis, was breathing. Airbus gained 4.41% to 51.23 euros, Air France-KLM 4.49% to 4.44 euros and Safran 2.94% to 54.70 euros.

Banks, however, after a rebound at the opening, fell again. Crédit Agricole lost 0.42% to 6.22 euros, BNP Paribas 5.97% to 25.50 euros and Société Générale 3.43% to 25.50 euros.

© 2020 AFP