(RTTNews) - French stocks were moving lower on Thursday after the Bank of England held interest rates steady and maintained its existing level of asset purchases, but warned that GDP will not recover to pre-Covid-19 levels until the end of 2021.
The benchmark CAC 40 index dropped 30 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,903 after climbing 0.9 percent the previous day.
Insurer AXA tumbled 3.3 percent after it booked a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) charge for claims related to Covid-19 in the first half and dropped its 2020 earnings target.
Credit Agricole edged up slightly. The country's second-biggest listed bank reported a 22 percent fall in quarterly profit after setting aside more than expected to cover souring loans due to the Covid-19 crisis.
In economic releases, German factory orders advanced 27.9 percent on a monthly basis in June, faster than the 10.4 percent increase seen in May, official data showed. Economists had forecast a 10.1 percent rise for June.
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