Paris (AFP)

Global stock markets had a turbulent session Thursday, affected by the tightening of restrictions against Covid-19 and the blocking of discussions on a US stimulus plan as around the post-Brexit.

Around 12 p.m. (10 a.m. GMT), the CAC 40 index in Paris lost 2.29% to 4,873.03 points while the Dax in Frankfurt fell by 2.94%, the FTSE 100 in London by 2.28%.

In Spain, the Ibex 35 index plunged 2.00% and Milan lost 2.61%.

"The disappointed hopes of American stimulus, the uncertainties linked to Brexit and the increase in the number of contaminations across Europe are all elements for an explosive cocktail", comments Neil Wilson, chief analyst for Markets.com.

Expected for several weeks as a breath of fresh air by American households and companies very hard hit by the first wave of Covid-19, a new fiscal stimulus is slow to emerge in the United States, for lack of a consensus between Republicans and Democrats, obsessed with the presidential election.

The faint hope for the conclusion of an agreement before the November 3 election was showered on Wednesday by comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, estimating that the views of some and others were still "very distant" on several parts of the new plan.

After a sharply lower closing on Wall Street on Wednesday evening, Asian indices suffered from these comments at the close on Thursday: Tokyo lost 0.51%, Hong Kong 2.06% and Shanghai 0.26%.

What also cool the enthusiasm of European investors already worried about the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Old Continent, and the tightening of the restrictions put in place to slow it down.

In France, nearly 20 million inhabitants will be subject from Saturday to a night curfew, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday.

Strong restrictions have also been put in place in Northern Ireland, Ireland, Catalonia, the Netherlands and Germany where a record number of daily cases have been recorded.

- "Reconfinement" -

"A re-containment in Europe seemed impossible until recently. With the arrival of the second wave, we can no longer totally rule it out," observes Milan Cutkovic, analyst for Axi.

This situation raises serious questions about the financial health of companies by the end of the year, when they are already heavily affected by the consequences of the first wave.

Their third quarter results will be closely scrutinized in the coming days, as the traditional publication season has just opened.

For now, two US banks, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, presented disappointing figures, and fell sharply on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Brexit is also on the minds as EU leaders are determined to show their firmness Thursday in Brussels at a summit on the post-Brexit relationship despite pressure from Briton Boris Johnson, who raises the threat of 'a halt in negotiations.

THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY DRINKS THE CUP

Values ​​in the travel sector were heavily affected by the tightening of French measures: Accor plunged 5.91% to 22.62 euros, Airbus fell 3.07% to 60.24 euros, and Air France-KLM by 2, 83% to 2.92 euros.

The Irish company Ryanair (-2.97% to 11.94 euros) has indicated that it will again reduce its flight capacities in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the fall in traffic, and pass them this winter at 40% against 60% last year.

Also in the air, the IAG group fell 4.03% to 94.30 pence, undermined by the prospect of further reductions in activity and traffic in a sector already going through a serious crisis.

AUTOMOBILE SUFFERS

Very cyclical, stocks linked to the automotive industry plunged.

In Germany, BMW dropped 4.28% to 61.34 euros, Daimler 4.07% to 46.31 euros and Volkswagen 4.56% to 132.84 euros.

In France, Renault lost 3.59% to 22.32 euros and PSA 2.82% to 15.18 euros.

© 2020 AFP