The star CAC 40 index fell 25.66 points to 6,555.77 points.

The day before, it had fallen by 1.17%.

The Parisian rating spent part of the morning in the green, with the publication of PMI indicators in the euro zone, but turned around in the afternoon, when geopolitical concerns took over.

Washington has indeed announced new financial sanctions against Russia, targeting the political world, oligarchs and the Russian defense industry.

The United States also intends to strengthen coordination with its Western allies to prevent Russia from using its gold reserves.

In addition, NATO will provide Ukraine with protective equipment against chemical, biological and nuclear threats and will also protect its forces deployed on the eastern flank, the Alliance's secretary general announced on Thursday.

This news weighs in particular on the mood of the markets and causes "risk aversion" among investors, who are more cautious about riskier assets, such as equities, explained Matthieu Lhoir, multi-asset manager at Axa IM.

On the other hand, "on the economic fundamentals", the news was good, he underlines.

In France, the euro zone and the United States, growth in activity in the private sector in March, measured by the PMI index of the firm S&P Global, exceeded analysts' expectations.

It has even accelerated in France and the United States, in particular thanks to the easing of health restrictions put in place to fight against the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

However, growth in activity has slowed for the euro zone, and S&P Global even points to a risk of contraction in the second quarter due to the “concrete and immediate consequences of the war in Ukraine”.

Moreover, on the bond market, the rate on the French 10-year loan, which is the reference, continued to tighten.

It broke above 1% in the morning, for the first time since February 2018, and was around 0.98% at the close.

Interest rates on government bonds are rising in all Western economies due to high inflation, which is pushing central banks to tighten their monetary policy.

"The rise is being made without putting too much pressure on the equity markets," commented Mr. L'Hoir.

This implies that a good part of the expectations linked to the tightening of monetary policies by central banks were already priced in”, with the indices falling after their peak in early January.

The French car manufacturer Renault, publicly targeted by the Ukrainian president for its activities in Russia, announced Wednesday evening to immediately suspend the activities of its Moscow factory and to evaluate "the possible options concerning its participation" in its large Russian subsidiary, AvtoVAZ.

The stock fell 0.78% to 22.87 euros.

© 2022 AFP