BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks gave up early gains to edge lower on Tuesday after a survey showed France's manufacturing conditions deteriorated in August due to the slower growth in production and marked reduction in staff numbers. The final factory PMI declined to 49.8 from 52.4 in July. The flash score was 49.0.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 0.1 percent at 4,941 after falling 1.1 percent on Monday. Strong readings on China's manufacturing sector and signs that Eurozone manufacturing activity remained on a recovery path last month helped to limit the downside to some extent.
The euro area manufacturing sector expanded at a moderate pace, as initially estimated, in August despite the severe constraints on economic activity related to fighting the global coronavirus disease, final survey data from IHS Markit showed.
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell slightly to 51.7 in August from 51.8 in July. The reading matched the flash estimate.
Sanofi rose half a percent. The pharmaceutical company announced that the Phase 3 trial of Kevzara (sarilumab) did not meet its primary endpoint and key secondary endpoint in Covid-19 patients outside the U.S.
Automakers were moving lower, with Renault falling 3 percent and Peugeot declining 1.7 percent as the dollar index sunk to a fresh two-year low.
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