The star CAC 40 index lost 108.62 points to 5,922.86 points and lost up to almost 3% at midday.

The day before, it had already fallen by 0.90%.

During the month of June, the Parisian rating fell by 8.44%, its worst month since March 2020 and the entry into force of confinements to fight against the spread of Covid-19.

During the second quarter, its loss amounted to 11.07%.

The balance sheet for the first six months of the year is no better: -17.20%, a semester that enters the Top 5 of the worst in the history of the CAC 40.

In question, the prospect of a sharp decline in economic activity linked to central bank measures to regain control of inflation.

The latest statistics published did not help to lift the morale of investors.

US household spending slowed in May due to record inflation and incomes not high enough to offset soaring prices.

Inflation in the United States accelerated over one month by 0.6% against 0.2% in April.

Over one year, however, it stabilized at 6.3%, according to the PCE index, one of the main indicators of inflation, favored by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

In view of these figures, "the market is preparing for a strong and lasting recession given the consumption indicators which are deteriorating, whereas they had behaved rather well until now", comments Yann Azuelos, fund manager at Mirabaud.

“It is not an indicator that is collapsing either, it is perhaps a technical effect of deterioration” after the good performance of American consumption in recent months, he tempers.

In France, the data are also worrying: the rise in consumer prices accelerated further in June to reach 5.8% over one year, against 5.2% in May.

However, household consumption rose again in the same month, by 0.7%, after two consecutive months of decline.

Another element of concern: deliveries of Russian gas received by Europeans, which the giant Gazprom continues to reduce.

"The market is rightly worried about Russian gas supply problems, but it may be a little early to integrate it into asset prices," said Yann Azuelos.

The European Central Bank intends to ask the big banks to reconsider their dividend distribution plans in the face of the risk of recession in the event of a cut in Russian gas supplies, said Thursday the chairman of banking supervisor Andrea Enria.

Already penalized by a fall in interest rates on the bond market, banking stocks fell sharply: Societe Generale fell by 6.28% to 20.89 euros, BNP Paribas by 3.64% to 45.37 euros and Crédit Agricole by 2.98% to 8.73 euros.

Alstom shares fell 8.13% to 21.59 euros, investors seem to be worried about the risk of default by the French railway manufacturer vis-à-vis its debt, according to Bloomberg, which evokes a increase in the cost of insurance in the event of default on the markets.

© 2022 AFP