BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as investors booked profits from recent gains amid signs of a flattening coronavirus curve and hopes that sweeping lockdown measures would soon be lifted.
Underlying sentiment turned cautious after France became the fourth country to report more than 15,000 deaths due to the coronavirus after Italy, Spain and the United States.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 81 points, or 1.79 percent, at 4,441 after rising 0.4 percent on Tuesday.
Banks fell across the board, with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale falling 4-5 percent.
Automaker Renault lost nearly 5 percent and Peugeot fell 3.3 percent.
Oil & gas company Total SA fell more than 5 percent as WTI front month futures dropped to test the $20 level again amid rising oversupply in the global market and worries about plunging demand.
In economic releases, French consumer price inflation advanced at a slower pace of 0.7 percent year-on-year in March after rising 1.4 percent in February, official data showed. This was slightly above the flash estimate of 0.6 percent. A similar lower rate was last seen in July 2017.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX