War Clouds Drag CAC 40 From Peak

(RTTNews) - Lingering geopolitical worries attributed to the U.S.-Iran tensions as well as the Ukraine-Russia conflict weighed on sentiment for the CAC 40 benchmark. Hawkish hints from the FOMC minutes released on Wednesday also clouded the monetary policy outlook. The index that tracks the 40 largest French stocks based on the Euronext Paris has dropped more than half a percent on Thursday.

CAC 40 is currently trading at 8,364.05, losing 0.77 percent from the previous close of 8,429.03. The day's trading has been between 8,350.36 and 8,415.88. The index had scaled a record high of 8,438.52 on Wednesday.

Amidst the weak sentiment, only 16 scrips in the 40-stock index are trading above the flatline.

Orange topped gains with an addition of 5.75 percent. Pernod Ricord followed with gains of 3.5 percent. Carrefour, Dassault Systemes, as well as Sanofi recorded gains of more than 1.5 percent.

Airbus plunged close to 6 percent as markets reacted to a lowered production guidance. Renault followed with losses of 4.7 percent. Stellantis as well as EuroNext also lost more than 3 percent.

In tandem with the hardening in bond yields globally, bond yields in France too have increased. Yields on France's 10-year bonds spiked 0.60 percent to 3.333 percent, versus the level of 3.313 percent at the previous close. Yields ranged between 3.335 percent and 3.315 percent.

With the U.S. Dollar firming up, the 6-currency Dollar Index is currently at 97.74, rising 0.04 percent from the previous close of 97.70. The EUR/USD pair has slipped 0.03 percent to 1.1781. The pair ranged between 1.1808 and 1.1780. The EUR/GBP pair is trading at 0.8746, gaining 0.16 percent from the flatline. The EUR/JPY pair has slipped 0.18 percent to trade at 182.22.