VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - French shares fell slightly in lackluster trade on Thursday as investors waited for the European Central Bank's first policy meeting after the Brexit vote.
The central bank is widely expected to leave its monetary policy unchanged, but investors are watching for signs of future easing in the post-Brexit era.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 20 points or 0.46 percent at 4,359 in late opening deals after rising 1.2 percent the previous day.
Air France-KLM tumbled 4 percent as rival Lufthansa slashed its profit forecast for this year and EasyJet reported lower quarterly revenue.
Advertising and communications company Publicis Groupe rallied 3.5 percent on posting a 0.9 percent increase in second-quarter revenue on a reported basis.
In economic releases, French manufacturing confidence improved slightly in July, survey results from the statistical office Insee showed, with the corresponding index rising unexpectedly to 103 from 102 in June. It was forecast to fall to 101.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX