CAC 40 Moderately Lower As Trade War Concerns Hurt Sentiment

(RTTNews) - French stocks are down in negative territory on Monday, weighed down by trade war concerns following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat that he would impose a 30% tariff on EU imports from August 1.

Meanwhile, the European Union has reportedly prepared a €21 billion ($24.52 billion) tariff package targeting American goods if trade talks between the two sides collapsed.

The benchmark CAC 40 was down 40.61 points or 0.52% at 7,788.68 a little while ago.

French defense-related stocks are finding some support after President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for a massive boost to France's defense spending, citing a greater threat from Russia.

Hermes International, down nearly 2%, is the biggest loser in the CAC 40 index. Pernod Ricard is down 1.9% and LVMH is down by about 1.7%.

STMicroElectronics, Teleperformance, Kering and Schneider Electric are down 1.3 to 1.5%. Legrand, Stellantis, Dassault Systemes, Saint Gobain, Capgemini, ArcelorMittal, L'Oreal and Renault are also notably lower.

Thales, up 1.7%, is the top gainer. Orange is gaining about 1.5%. Danone, Michelin, Engie, Bouygues, TotalEnergies and Accor are up with modest gains.