BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks fell sharply on Friday to extend losses from the previous session as the spread of coronavirus showed no sign of abating. More than 3,300 people have died globally and over 97,800 have been infected so far.
The benchmark CAC 40 index was down 124 points, or 2.3 percent, at 5,237 after tumbling 1.9 percent on Thursday.
Automakers succumbed to heavy selling pressure, with Renault down 11 percent and Peugeot falling 5 percent.
Energy firm Total SA declined 1.5 percent as oil extended its slide from the lowest close in more than two years amid fears that Russia will refuse to sign up to the 1.5 million barrel-a-day output cut proposed on Thursday by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Plane maker Airbus lost 4.6 percent after saying it had failed to win any new aircraft orders in February.
Ophthalmic company EssilorLuxottica SA declined 2 percent after posting a flat profit for its fiscal 2019.
Looking ahead for fiscal 2020, the company said its objectives assume that the COVID-19 outbreak will subside in the next few months.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX