Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse fell 0.10% in mid-session Friday, ending the week on a negative touch while uncertainties are still great about the state of the global economy.

Around 1:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. GMT), the CAC 40 index fell by 4.90 points to 5,034.60 points.

At the European level, the indices hesitated: the German Dax took 0.38% and the FTSE 100 in London gave up 0.07%.

As the day before, investors were on the alert, hampered by international economic uncertainties in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Discussions around potential targeted containment measures, curfews and quarantine measures are becoming a new normal, making investors worried about the economic recovery in Europe," observes Michael Hewson, chief market analyst for CMC Markets UK.

For his part, Waldemar Brun-Theremin, manager for Turgot Asset Management, observes that "the latent economic crisis that we are going through with Covid-19 will be with us for a while".

"We have digested it, now we are waiting to see how the United States will leave," he adds.

This is one of the big question marks of the global recovery, as the country led by Donald Trump alternates between good indicators and alarming statistics.

One of the major appointments of the day Friday will be the publication during the session of the consumer confidence index by the University of Michigan, according to analysts at Saxo Bank.

"We fear that the crisis in the coming months will worsen through the factor of business bankruptcies and lead to a deterioration in consumption which could lead to a high level of savings," they say.

All this tense environment pushed back the US indices Thursday and moved the futures contracts in dispersed order Friday on the three main indices of Wall Street.

THE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE ABOUT

The burning news of the financial markets was more turned Friday on the side of the stock market operators.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE, + 1.40% to 8.966 pence) announced on Friday that it had entered into "exclusive discussions" with Euronext (+ 5.81% to 103.80 euros) to sell it on the Milan Stock Exchange, which would be one of the best catches for the European stock exchange operator.

Competitor, Deutsche Börse still took 1.29% to 149.55 euros.

WATER IN GAS

Veolia lost 0.34% to 18.83 euros, Suez 0.30% to 14.99 euros and Engie 0.17% to 11.80 euros.

Engie declined Thursday as it stands the offer made by Veolia to buy back its stake in Suez, while the government is procrastinating, anxious to avoid possible social consequences.

TOURISM IS ON THE WAY

As restrictive measures multiply around the world to deal with Covid, the British airline group IAG fell 11.89% to 114.06 pence and the cruise line Carnival by 6.26% to 964.60 pence.

In France, Airbus dropped 1.90% to 69.77 euros.

© 2020 AFP