CAC 40 Falls Amid US Political Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - French stocks fell on Monday, with lingering trade tensions, worries about Fed's independence and concerns over a partial U.S. government shutdown keeping investors nervous ahead of the Christmas break.

Meanwhile, after calling the bank CEOs on Sunday in an apparent attempt to check on system liquidity, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will chair a meeting of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets later today.

The benchmark CAC was down 45 points or 0.95 percent at 4,649 in opening deals after finishing marginally higher on Friday.

Banks Lloyds Bank, Barclays, HSBC Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland fell 1-2 percent. Advertising firm WPP tumbled as much as 3.5 percent.

While Asian stock markets ended mixed in thin holiday trade, U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open later today after steep losses last week.