The flagship CAC 40 index lost 5.99 points to 6,659.21 points around 10:15 a.m., after opening slightly higher.

On Monday, it ended down 0.70%, worried about the possible economic consequences of the protests in China.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange rebounded strongly by more than 5% on Tuesday, largely erasing its losses from the previous day, on the back of hopes that Beijing will relax its health policy a little more.

The announcement, shortly before the closure of Hong Kong, of an acceleration of the vaccination campaign for the elderly against the Covid-19 virus in China provided a boost.

China has been rocked by demonstrations, the largest since pro-democracy protests in 1989, calling for more political freedoms and an end to the painful "zero Covid" strategy.

Several arrests have taken place.

“There is great uncertainty about the impact of the Chinese unrest on the global economy,” nuance Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Regarding price dynamics, "a delay in China's reopening means additional negative pressure on energy and commodity prices, and slower inflation for the rest of the world," she explains.

“But on the other hand, the Chinese unrest increases the possibility of a new supply chain crisis”, anticipates the analyst.

Concerns about the repercussions of the protests also weighed on the New York Stock Exchange, which ended sharply lower on Monday, also weighed down by proactive statements from American central bankers.

James Bullard, chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed) office in St. Louis, "reiterated his view that the Fed needs to at least hit the low end of the 5% to 7% range in its rates ( ...) to eradicate inflation close to the highest level in four decades", comments John Plassard, investment specialist at Mirabaud.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde would be "surprised" to see euro zone inflation peaking, she said on Monday.

On the bond market, European sovereign debt rates eased.

The French 10-year rate fell to 2.38% against 2.46% on Monday.

Societe Generale and ALD down

The Societe Generale banking group (-0.40% to 23.92 euros) announced the launch of a capital increase of its subsidiary ALD, a specialist in long-term vehicle rental, for an amount of 1.2 billion euros. euros, of which 803 million contributed by Societe Generale.

The action of ALD fell 4.55% to 10.46 euros.

© 2022 AFP