Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse continued its decline (-0.73%) Wednesday at midday, obsessed with the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the world economy.

At 13:56 (11:56 GMT), the CAC 40 index lost 36.6 points to 5.006.99 points. The day before, it had ended in decline of 0.74%.

The Parisian rating has remained in negative territory since the opening, close to 5,000 points.

Wall Street was also preparing to open up slightly The futures contract on the flagship Dow Jones Industrial Average took 0.15%, that of the broad S&P 500 index 0.22% and the Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, 0.43%.

"Consolidation continues on riskier assets. These downward corrections, of limited scope so far, are for the most part perceived as" healthy "by investors following the strongest rebound of the year on the stock markets" , writes Pierre Veyret, analyst at Activtrades.

However, he continues, "some market operators also fear that the new impetus of the coronavirus will affect the pace of economic recovery".

For a fortnight, the markets seemed to have become insensitive to bad health news, convinced that they could count on economic and monetary support for a long time.

Several members of the American Federal Reserve also recalled the institution's desire to remain in support of the activity.

However, "the risk for the markets would be of too much expectation on the actions of central banks", observes Alexandre Hezez, investment manager of Richelieu Gestion.

"Now, the trend should remain hesitant with markets generally in a waiting position as the second quarter earnings season approaches which will not really start in the United States until next week," notes Franklin Pichard, director of Kiplink Finance.

In addition, the season for publishing company results "can be a trigger for a correction," warns Mr. Hezez. "Investors are banking on a stabilization of the deterioration of forecasts, but if the deterioration is stronger, then a correction of the markets is expected".

- Cyclicals weaken -

In terms of statistics, the recession should be 9% this year in France, according to INSEE, which was a little more optimistic on Wednesday than the government, which anticipates a fall in gross domestic product by 11%.

Investors await in particular the weekly report on oil stocks in the United States.

In terms of health, the world's largest economy continues to break infection records, with 60,000 new cases and 1,100 deaths for the day alone on Tuesday. President Donald Trump said he has notified his country of withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), which he previously criticized for handling the crisis.

On the table of values, cyclicals declined, like the aeronautics and automotive sectors. Airbus (-2.97% to 65.30 euros), including several thousand employees demonstrated within the group, on the outskirts of Toulouse, against the announced job loss plan.

Renault slipped 3.90% to 22.19 euros and Peugeot 2.94% to 14.22 euros.

The IT sector remained very challenged, particularly Akka Technologies (-7% to 25.25 euros), Sopra Steria (-3.01% to 112.90 euros and Atos (-1.39% to 77.82 euros).

Paris Airport lost 1.71% to 91.95 euros. The group finalized the purchase of a 49% stake in the Indian group GMR Airports, but the amount of the operation has been revised in order to "take into account the impact of the pandemic".

On the other hand, TechnipFMC climbed 7.08% to 6.95 euros after the announcement of the signing of a "major contract" in Egypt, an expression used by the company when the amount is more than a billion dollars.

© 2020 AFP