Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse widened its losses (-1.09%) Friday at midday, weighed down by the prospect of new restrictions to fight the pandemic in Europe, and after bad omen PMI indicators.

Around 1:14 p.m. (12:14 GMT), the CAC 40 index sank 60.71 points to 5,530.08 points, after having already fallen by 0.67% the day before.

Even renewed concerns elsewhere in Europe, London losing 73%, Frankfurt 0.85% and Milan 1.88%.

On Wall Street, futures contracts on the three main indices were preparing for an opening in the red, after new records set by the Nasdaq the day before.

"The stock markets are clearly in the red" this Friday "because of fears that European governments may introduce more stringent restrictions in an attempt to fight the coronavirus," summarizes David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets.

The European Union called on Thursday to avoid non-essential travel between the countries of the bloc, deeming the health situation "very serious" while Germany on Friday passed the milestone of 50,000 deaths from Covid-19.

France has announced for its part that it will require from Sunday to travelers from other European countries the presentation of a PCR test carried out 72 hours before departure.

Paris does not rule out a third confinement in the event of a deterioration of the situation.

The European Central Bank, which on Thursday opted for the status quo regarding its panoply of anti-crisis tools, also expressed its concern about the "serious risk" that the virulence of the pandemic poses to the recovery.

The effects of the latest restrictions continue to be reflected in the figures with a decline in private sector activity which accelerated in January in the euro area, raising fears of a new recession under the effect of the tightening of measures to fight against the coronavirus, according to the composite PMI index by the firm Markit published on Friday.

This resurgence of risk aversion penalized first and foremost the sectors most sensitive to the economic situation and having already suffered heavily from the crisis caused by the pandemic, such as oil stocks or even tourism and airlines. .

Will the demand for oil restart?

In London, BP lost 2.61% to 285.70 pence and Royal Dutch Shell ("B" share) 1.82% to 1,351.80 pence while in Paris, the oil services CGG (-7.28% to 0 , 87 euros), Vallourec (-5.27% to 24.81 euros) and TechnipFMC (-4.72% to 8.93 euros) were among the biggest losses of the SBF 120.

Aeronautics takes a nosedive

Air France fell 4.09% to 4.62 euros, while across the Channel, Easyjet lost 4.36% to 772.04 pence and IAG 4.14% to 150.45 pence.

In Franfort, MTU Aero Engines fell 1.92% to 204 euros.

Rémy Cointreau in pain

The spirits group did not benefit (-0.96% to 145.00 euros) from the sharp increase in sales recorded in the third quarter of its lagged financial year, driven by home consumption in the United States, after a weak first half by the health crisis.

Compagnie des Alpes floats

Compagnie des Alpes was one of the few titles in the green in Paris (+ 0.11% to 17.92 euros) despite a turnover in the first quarter of 2020-2021 divided by five, its activities in leisure parks as in ski resorts that have been paralyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

© 2021 AFP