CAC 40 Down Nearly 3% As Sell-off Continues

(RTTNews) - French stocks are down sharply on Tuesday, extending previous session's steep losses, as rising tensions in the Middle East continue to push investors away from riskier assets such as equities.

Rising concerns about inflation, and U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that the conflict could last about four to five weeks, and that the U.S. has the "capability to go far longer than that", significantly weigh on sentiment.

A prolonged conflict in the Middle East and a persistent fall in oil and gas supplies from the region could cause a "substantial spike" in inflation and a "sharp drop in output" in the euro zone, ECB chief economist Philip Lane has warned in an interview with the Financial Times.

France's benchmark CAC 40, which tumbled to 8,119.79 earlier in the session, was down 236.99 points or 2.81% at 8,157.33 a few minutes before noon.

Among the constituents of the benchmark index, only Capgemini (up 0.25%) is trading in positive territory.

Accor is down 6%, extending previous session's big decline. Societe Generale is losing nearly 6%, while Engie and ArcelorMittal are down 5.7% and 5.6%, respectively.

STMicroelectronics, Unibail Rodamco, Renault, BNP Paribas, Kering, Saint Gobain, Credit Agricole, Veolia Environment, Eiffage, Stellantis, AXA, Legrand, Schneider Electric, Safran, Vinci, L'Oreal, LVMH, Bureau Veritas, Carrefour, Michelin and Thales are down 2.6%-5%.

In economic news, data from Eurostat said the annual inflation in the Euro Area rose to 1.9% in February 2026, up from January's 16-month low of 1.7% and above market expectations of 1.7%, according to a preliminary estimate.

Among the bloc's largest economies, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) accelerated in France (1.1% from 0.4%), Spain (2.5% from 2.4%) and Italy (1.6% from 1.0%), while easing slightly in Germany (2.0% from 2.1%).