(RTTNews) - French stocks fell sharply on Thursday as virus fears lingered and investors kept an eye on rising tensions between the United States and China.
Huawei said today the U.S. visa restrictions on its employees over the human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party in the Xinjian region of northwest China were "an unfair and arbitrary action".
Earlier, China accused the U.S. of "gangster logic" after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an end to Hong Kong's special status under U.S. law.
The focus is on the European Central Bank's meeting later in the day, with economists expecting no new measures.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 49 points, or 0.95 percent, at 5,060 after rallying 2 percent the previous day.
Alstom SA shares advanced 1.3 percent. After reporting a 27 percent fall in first-quarter sales, the company reiterated its previous outlook and said it expects a fast recovery in the rail market.
Peugeot S.A. shares dropped half a percent. The automaker reported that worldwide sales volume for the first half declined 45.7 percent to 1.03 million units from last year's 1.90 million units.
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