The flagship CAC 40 index fell 132.47 points to 6,220.47 points around 9:40 a.m., the day after a drop of 1.20%.
Wall Street had another black session on Wednesday, one of the worst since 2020, initiated the day after a rebound by a series of bad announcements from major retailers, which raised fears for consumption and corporate profits.
The Dow Jones index plunged 3.57%, the lowest since March 2021, while the Nasdaq fell 4.73%, and now sits 30% below its peak at the end of 2021.
"The risk factors are too numerous to ignore and the serious question arises of the ability of central banks, in certain countries, to permanently stem inflation" with the risk of "going through a recession", remind analysts of Saxo Bank.
Central banks remain as determined as ever to fight inflation, in particular by resorting to increases in their key rates, but the slowdown in growth with the health crisis in China and the war in Ukraine makes the implementation of policies perilous.
Societe Generale sells Rosbank
The French bank Société Générale (+0.50% to 24.08 euros) resisted better than the other banking stocks on the stock market after having finalized the sale of Rosbank, a Russian banking heavyweight in which it was the majority shareholder.
Crédit Agricole fell by 2.24% to 10.23 euros and BNP Paribas by 2.23% to 52.16 euros.
EDF cuts its forecasts again
The electrician has revised its forecasts of results sharply downwards, after having adjusted its estimate of nuclear production in France because of the corrosion problems observed on certain reactors.
The title lost 2.01% to 8.20 euros.
New loss and 3,000 job cuts at Vallourec
The French manufacturer of seamless tubes (-2.36% to 12.65 euros) announced Wednesday its intention to cut some 2,950 jobs worldwide, including 320 in France.
The group achieved 916 million euros in turnover in the first quarter of 2022, up 30.5% compared to the same period in 2021, reducing its net loss to 35 million euros against 93 million euros. euros last year.
© 2022 AFP