Stocks Decline in Paris
May 16, 2011
The CAC 40 index of actively traded stocks slipped 5.55 to 1971.43, after rising 6.37 on Monday. Volume was around 3.9 billion francs worth of shares. Traders said that stocks retreated across the board following news that the U.S. launched a missile strike on southern Iraq. The news added to foreign investor concerns that France is headed toward social upheaval as its government attempts to push through spending cuts. Distribution company Promodes bucked the downward trend on news that it had sold its underperforming German supermarket chain to Spar Handels AG. Promodes climbed 6 francs to 1224. Food company Dimarco, however, is expected to report worse-than-expected earnings on Wednesday. News that competitor Unilever was restructuring may also have pulled some investors away from Danone, traders said. Its shares fell 9 francs to 685.
