BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks fell on Friday as investors remained on edge over drawn-out vote counting in the U.S. presidential election.
Democratic challenger Joe Biden gained more ground on President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, edging closer to winning the White House. The Trump team is pressing legal challenges in several states.
Covid-19 worries also kept investors nervous after several European countries imposed lockdowns and curfews to contain the spread of the virus.
The benchmark CAC 40 dropped 42 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,940 after rising 1.2 percent on Thursday.
Insurer Scor soared 6.3 percent after reporting an increase in gross written premiums in the third quarter.
Air France KLM fell 2.3 percent. The Franco-Dutch airline holding company has announced the final approval of the 3.4 billion euros loan package by the Dutch state. KLM and the eight trade unions have satisfied a key requirement, ensuring final approval of the loan package.
In economic releases, French trade deficit narrowed in September as growth in exports far exceeded the rise in imports, data from customs office showed.
The trade deficit declined to a five-month low of EUR 5.75 billion from EUR 7.7 billion in August. In the same period last year, the shortfall was EUR 5.11 billion.
On a monthly basis, exports advanced 6.2 percent and imports gained 0.6 percent in September. Year-on-year, exports and imports were down 14.4 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX