CAC 40 Down Nearly 1% As Political Concerns, Trade Tensions Weigh

(RTTNews) - French stocks are notably lower on Tuesday amid political concerns, and simmering U.S.-China trade tensions. Investors are also awaiting quarterly earnings updates from big name U.S. banks later in the day.

French political crisis continues with President Emmanuel Macron rejecting calls to resign and blasting his opponents. Macron's latest government is threatened by two no-confidence motions that could bring it down by the end of the week.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he still expects Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet but warned that all options remain open for retaliating against China's move to tighten exports of rare earths.

China's commerce ministry said it remained open to talks, but the U.S. cannot seek dialogue while threatening new measures.

Also, Beijing reportedly said it was Washington's expansion of curbs on Chinese firms in late September that ratcheted up tensions and drove it to further tighten its grip on the critical minerals.

The benchmark CAC 40 was down 75.59 points or 0.95% at 7,858.77 a few minutes ago.

Michelin is plunging more than 9% after the company lowered its annual targets amid worsening economic environment. The company expects operating income of 2.6 - 3 billion euros, down from previous estimate of over 3.4 billion euros.

Stellantis is declining by about 4.2% following a rating downgrade by Moody's. Kering, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal and Schneider Electric are down 2 to 2.2%.

Bureau Veritas, STMicroElectronics, Legrand, LVMH, Thales, Renault, Airbus, Saint Gobain, Safran and EssilorLuxottica are down 1 to 2%.

Danone and Orange are gaining 1.1% and 1%, respectively. Publicis Groupe is up nearly 1% after beating Q3 expectations and raising its full-year guidance.

Carrefour, Sanofi, Engie, Societe Generale and Vinci are up with modest gains.