CAC 40 Down For 2nd Straight Day On War Jitters

(RTTNews) - France's equity index CAC 40 slipped into negative territory after a flat start Friday morning, as investors continued to stay wary of picking up stocks amid lingering uncertainty about reported peace talks between U.S. and Iran.

Concerns about inflation and rate hikes amid elevated oil prices weigh as well on sentiment.

Oil prices climbed higher again, with the Brent crude climbing over $114 a barrel, even as U.S. President Donald Trump extended the pause on military strikes on Iran by 10 days.

Reports that the Pentagon is planning to send 10,000 more troops to the Middle East signal a possible escalation in tensions in the region.

The CAC 40 was down 52.70 points or 0.68% at 7,716.61 a little less than half an hour before noon.

STMicroelectronics tumbled more than 4%. Legrand slipped nearly 3% and Societe Generale lost about 2.3%.

Engie, ArcelorMittal, TotalEnergies, Schneider Electric and Eiffage drifted down 1.6%-2%. Airbus, Kering, Carrefour, Unibail Rodamco, Saint-Gobain, Vinci, Thales and Bouygues also recorded notable losses.

Among the gainers, Pernod Ricard moved up nearly 3% after confirming merger talks with Jack Daniel's owner Brown-Forman.

Sanofi gained 1.5% and Capgemini climbed 1.2%. Air Liquide, Dassault Systemes, Orange and EssilorLuxottica gained 0.4%-0.7%.