CAC 40 Down Sharply As Bank Stocks Tumble Amid Political Concerns

(RTTNews) - Despite regaining some lost ground after a sharp early setback, the French stock market remains notably lower Monday afternoon, weighed down by political concerns after the nation's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, barely a few hours after unveiling his cabinet.

Bank and energy stocks are among the major losers, and the mood in the market remains quite bearish following a warning from Socialists that they would vote against the government if its fails to break with the President's past policies.

The CAC 40, which tumbled to 7,909.46 earlier in the session, was down 94.47 points or 1.17% at 7,987.07 a few minutes ago.

Societe Generaly, the biggest loser in the CAC 40 index, is down 5.2%. Credit Agricole is declining 4.1% and BNP Paribais is down nearly 4%.

Renault is down more than 3% on reports that the company may cut 3,000 jobs worldwide.

Engie, Veolia Environment, Vinci, Bougues, Saint Gobain, AXA, Edenred and Thales are down 2 to 3.7%. Capgemini, Kering, Carrefour, Accor, EssilorLuxottica and Unibail Rodamco are also down sharply.

Stellantis, up 2%, and Total Energies, up 0.75%, are bucking the trend.

In economic news, data from Eurostat showed eurozone retail sales edged up 0.1% month-over-month in August 2025, recovering from a revised 0.4% decline in July. On an annual basis, retail trade growth slowed sharply to 1% in August, marking the weakest year-on-year increase since July 2024.

Meanwhile, the HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI fell to 46 in September 2025, from 46.7 in the previous month, indicating a further contraction in the sector.