BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - France's equity benchmark CAC 40 dropped sharply Friday morning amid rising concerns the Democratic Party's sweeping wins in the US midterm elections could result in tighter regulation of the AI industry and slowdown in data center expansion.
The CAC 40 was down 131.23 points or 1.6% at 8,074.14 about half an hour before noon.
Capgemini, Kering, LVMH, Publicis Groupe, Sanofi, Bouygues, Hermes International, L'Oreal and Safran lost 2.2%-3.3%.
Danone, Bureau Veritas, Eurofins Scientific, Orange, Pernod Ricard, AXA, EssilorLuxottica, Air Liquide, Sanit-Gobain, Thales and Euronext shed 1.3%-2%.
STMicroelectronics climbed 2.3%. Legrand and ArcelorMittal moved up 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively. BNP Paribas and Stellantis posted modest gains.
On the economic front, France's trade deficit widened to €7.3 billion in September from a revised €6.0 billion in August, well above expectations of €5.8 billion. Imports rose 4.0% month-on-month to €62.7 billion, while exports rose at a softer 2.0% to €55.3 billion.
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