The star CAC 40 index dropped 0.42%, dropping below 6,500 points, to 6,483.04 points around 9:45 a.m. (08:45 GMT).

On Wednesday, concerns about China had pushed the Parisian market down by 0.61%.

The announcement by Beijing at the start of the week of the end, on January 8, of compulsory quarantines on arrival was first welcomed by the financial markets.

But the risk of negative consequences begins to weigh more and more heavily.

"The good news with China's reopening is that it should boost global growth," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank, but "the bad news" is a risk of higher "energy and commodity prices". raw materials - therefore inflation, central bank interest rate hikes and potentially an increase in Covid cases around the world," she warns.

The United States will require a negative Covid test for all travelers from China due to the explosion in the number of cases there and the "lack" of information provided by Beijing, announced the American health authorities on Wednesday. , thus mimicking measures already taken by other countries such as Japan and Italy.

On Wall Street, the three main indices all lost more than 1% on Wednesday after a hesitant session marked by the rise in bond rates.

In addition, several health experts warn that the explosion of cases combined with the lifting of health measures in China constitute a potential breeding ground for the emergence of new variants, "which is particularly worrying, especially in a context where the nerves are already raw after a year of rate hikes, galloping inflation and war (…) at the gates of NATO”, comments Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset management.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has "requested appropriate measures to protect" the French from the government, which assures Wednesday "to follow very carefully the evolution of the situation in China".

Positive results for Adocia

The pharmaceutical laboratory Adocia announced Thursday positive results in a Phase 1 study of its "ultra-rapid insulin" BioChaperone Lispro, used in the treatment of diabetes, tested in China in partnership with the pharmaceutical company Tonghua Dongbao.

Its action rose 6.37% to 3.34 euros.

© 2022 AFP