Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse accentuated its losses Wednesday at midday (-1.05%), tense by a resurgence of diplomatic tensions between China and the United States.

At 1:15 p.m. (11:15 a.m. GMT), the CAC 40 index fell 53.78 points to 5,050.50 points. The day before, it had finished in timid increase (+ 0.22%).

After an opening in slight decline, the Parisian dimension sank further into the red under the effect of concerns related to Sino-American tensions.

Wall Street was preparing to open in contrasting fashion. The futures contract on the flagship Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25% and the futures contract on the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.21%. The Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, took 0.16% seeming ready to resume after its decline the day before.

Since an agreement was reached on Tuesday on the European stimulus plan, "some investors pocket their profits" accumulated in recent sessions, observes David Madden, analyst for CMC Markets.

"And in the middle of the morning, the announcement of the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston by the US government added to the climate of caution" on the markets, he said.

The United States ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston "in order to protect American intellectual property," a State Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday, a measure described as "provocation" by Beijing.

This decision comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the two powers on several fronts: controversial national security law in Hong Kong, accusations of espionage, human rights situation in the Xinjiang region (north-west) in particular.

China's handling of the Covid-19 crisis has also angered Washington lately.

“Today's aversion to riskier assets is also driven by growing concerns about the coronavirus (...) which almost canceled out this week's positive development regarding a potential vaccine in the minds of investors, ”notes Pierre Veyret, analyst at ActivTrades.

President Donald Trump has for the first time admitted that the coronavirus pandemic is taking "worrying" proportions in part of the United States, where more than 60,000 new cases of coronavirus contamination have been recorded in the space of 24 hours.

Market operators are mainly betting on a restart of the global economy, but if cases of Covid-10 contamination continue to increase, the current recovery risks being undermined.

In this context, the question of a vaccine remains crucial. The second most affected country in the world with 80,000 deaths, Brazil on Tuesday became the first country to launch phase III tests of the Chinese Coronavac vaccine against the coronavirus.

The British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca hopes to deliver its future vaccine against Covid-19 by "the end of the year".

- Valeo collapses -

On the values ​​side, Valeo sank further (-9.49% to 21.93 euros), weighed down by the announcement of the elimination of 12,000 jobs worldwide in the first half, including nearly 2,000 in France and results clearly in the Red.

The other OEMs Michelin (-3.16% to 93.78 euros) and Faurecia (-4.31% to 33.49 euros) fell in its wake.

On the other hand, Orpea was hailed (+ 5.19% to 106.35 euros) for its resilience in the first half.

Ipsen happily benefited (+ 5.45% to 82.25 euros) from an increase in recommendation by JPMorgan, from "neutral" to "overweight".

Voltalia also advanced 3.45% to 16.78 euros, driven by sharply rising revenues in the first half, during which the company also garnered a record level of contracts.

Covivio widened its losses (-3.17% to 62.65 euros), the real estate group lowering its annual profit targets by around one hundred million euros.

Somfy soared 12.07% to 97.50 euros, the group having noted "an inflection" in the middle of this quarter after sales fell 16.4% in the second quarter, penalized by the impact of the health crisis.

Antalis plunged 15.58% to 0.78 euros after the completion of its takeover by the Japanese Kokusai Pulp and Paper (KPP).

© 2020 AFP