The Paris stock exchange plunged by 1.4% to 1.5% (down to around 7,950), weighed down by steep declines in Legrand (-12%), Kering (-3.8%), Schneider (-3.2%), and Dassault Systèmes (-3%). The situation worsened with the opening of Wall Street, with a cold shower effect in the tech sector as the Nasdaq-100 tumbled more than 1.75% to 25,170.
Thursday's somewhat unexpected correction spared no European market, with the E-Stoxx50 down 1% and the DAX40 down 1.2%.
While investors are logically questioning the valuations reached by US stocks linked to AI (OPEN AI is reportedly seeking a state guarantee for massive loans planned for its development expenditures, estimated at over $1 trillion), they can also wonder about the signs of weakness affecting other sectors: October saw the highest number of job cuts in 22 years, according to Challenger's monthly survey.
Of course, the government shutdown is starting to impact growth (many administrative procedures that facilitate business are delayed, blocking new initiatives), but it is mainly the private sector that is recording an unusually high number of departures (layoffs, contract terminations).
Wall Street has been sliding steadily since 3:30 pm: the S&P500 is down 1%, the Dow Jones by 0.9%, and the Russell-2000, which gained 1.5% the previous day, has lost it all, falling back to 2,425 points.
Among today's key events, the Bank of England dashed hopes for a rate cut and maintained its repo rate at 4%. The BoE prefers to wait for new indicators before making a decision at its December meeting. The FT100 reacted little, slipping just 0.5%.
In Germany, industrial production increased by 1.3% in volume in September 2025 compared to the previous month, according to CVS-CJO data from Destatis, following a contraction of 3.7% in August (revised from an initial estimate of -4.3%).
In the bond market, 10-year Bund yields eased by 2 basis points to 2.654%, while the French OAT of the same maturity fell just 1 point to 3.447%. Across the Atlantic, risk-off sentiment returned after Wednesday night's spike in yields (the US 10-year climbed 7 points to 4.16%): the 2035 T-Bond eased by 6.7 points to 4.0930%, and the 30-year by 5.5 points to 4.682%.
On the energy front, Brent crude reversed course from +1% at $64.2 to -0.5% at $63.25.
On the FOREX market, the euro gained 0.35% against the greenback, trading at 1.1535 USD.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin retreated 2.4% to $101,500, while Ethereum fell 4% to $3,300.
In French corporate news, Legrand reported a 7% increase in group net profit to EUR892.3 million for the first nine months of 2025, with an adjusted operating margin of 20.7% after acquisitions (+0.1 point to 20.6% before acquisitions). The group confirmed its target for 2025 of sales growth (organic and through acquisitions, excluding currency effects) between +10% and +12%, and an adjusted operating margin (after acquisitions) of 20.5% to 21% of sales.
Veolia posted 'solid results for the first nine months of 2025, in line with annual targets', with a current EBIT up organically by 7.9% to EUR2.74 billion and organic EBITDA growth of 5.4% to EUR5.08 billion.
Engie now estimates that for 2025, its recurring net income group share should be at the upper end of the EUR4.4 to EUR5 billion range, and its EBIT excluding nuclear at the upper half of the EUR8 to EUR9 billion range.
ArcelorMittal expressed optimism about its outlook for fiscal 2026 after exceeding market expectations in the third quarter, leading to a sharp rise in its share price in early Paris trading. The world's largest steelmaker posted an EBITDA of $1.51 billion, down from $1.58 billion a year earlier, but above the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion.
Air France-KLM fell on the stock market following the release of quarterly results below expectations, prompting profit-taking after the stock's strong rise since the start of the year. The airline reported a 2.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year, reaching EUR9.2 billion.
Vallourec announced that it has once again been selected by TotalEnergies to supply casing and production tubes, along with associated accessories, for the drilling of 48 wells as part of the Associated Gas Upstream Project 2 ('AGUP2') in Iraq.
