The star CAC 40 index yielded 71.48 points to 6,286.98 points at 9:40 a.m., after three consecutive sessions of decline.

On Thursday, the ECB's announcements have already pushed the Parisian rating down by 1.40% and on Wall Street the losses have been even more pronounced: -1.94% for the Dow Jones, -2.38% for the S&P 500 and -2.75% for the Nasdaq.

The ECB announced an increase in its key rates by 25 basis points in July and the end at the same time of its net purchases of assets, which was expected.

However, its president Christine Lagarde also announced a further rate hike in September, the extent of which will depend on inflation, a source of concern for investors.

This historic turning point in European monetary policy is accompanied by a revision of macroeconomic forecasts: the ECB expects inflation to be stronger than expected in March, at 6.8% for 2022, and growth of 2.8% in 2022 , instead of 3.7%.

Another fear of investors: the ECB, although ready to act, has not really presented a solution to limit the risks of financial fragmentation and gaps between the yields of government bonds in the euro zone.

The gap between the rate of the German 10-year debt, which is a reference in Europe, and that of the Italian debt with the same maturity has increased sharply, indicating the concern of investors for the debt of certain countries considered fragile.

At midday, investors' attention will turn to the United States where the consumer price index for May will be published at 12:30 GMT (2:30 p.m. in Paris).

The White House expects a "high" figure, while inflation had slowed down a little in April (+8.3% over one year) but still close to its highest in 40 years.

In May, the rise in prices should accelerate again, according to a consensus of analysts who expect +0.7%.

While an acceleration in inflation is likely to displease the markets, a lower than expected figure "would revive hopes that inflation peaked two months ago, and that the worst is behind us", anticipates Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote.

Crédit Agricole Assurances invests in Repsol

Crédit Agricole Assurances and the Swiss infrastructure fund Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) announced on Thursday the acquisition of 25% of the shares of Repsol Renovables, the branch of the Spanish oil group Repsol devoted to renewable energies.

The action of the parent company Crédit Agricole lost 2.74% to 9.54 euros, the worst drop in CAC 40 values, all down at the same time.

2MX Organic finalizes its "unpacking"

The company of the trio Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Moez-Alexandre Zouari, 2MX Organic has announced the conclusion of a "definitive merger agreement" with the agricultural cooperative InVivo (Gamm Vert, Jardiland...).

The action of 2MX Organic took 0.41% to 9.90 euros.

© 2022 AFP