BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - A day after hitting a 7-month high, French stock market's benchmark index CAC 40 has slipped into negative territory with bank stocks suffering sharp losses on Friday amid concerns about the health of U.S. credit markets.
Concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions, and the ongoing war in Ukraine are also weighing on sentiment.
The temporary reprieve the newly formed French government got after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes on Thursday helps limit market's downside.
The DAX, which plunged to 22,682,63 earlier, was down 497.74 points or 2.05% at 23,775.19 a little while ago.
The CAC 40 was down 60.70 points or 0.74% at 8,127.89 a few minutes past noon.
Shares of lenders are hurt by concerns about the health of U.S. banking sector. Zions Bancorporation, a Utah-based lender, said it would write off $50m on two loans, while Phoenix-headquartered Western Alliance said it had started legal proceedings over a bad loan said to be worth $100m.
Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are down 5.2% and 3.9%, respectively. Credit Agricole is declining by about 2.5%.
Thales is down 3.7%, while STMicroElectronics, Airbus, Legrand, Safran and Schneider Electric are down 2.1 to 3%.
AXA, Saint Gobain, ArcelorMittal, Capgemini, Eurofins Scientific, Kering and Veolia Environment are also notably lower.
EssilorLuxxotica is soaring nearly 12% after reporting that revenues for the third quarter were 6,867 million euros, up 11.7% from last year.
Pernod Ricard and Danone are gaining 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively. Orange is up 0.6%, while Hermes International and Carrefour are up marginally.
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