Stocks Post Fifth Straight Loss
May 12, 2011
The CAC 40 index of blue-chip stocks closed at 1970.61, down 6.95. Volume was lively at 4.6 billion francs worth of shares, boosted by the expiration of CAC 40 futures. Traders said a sharp decline on Wall Street damped buying interest across Europe. U.S. stocks continued to fall Friday after more economic data showed strong momentum for the economy's growth, and solidified expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise rates next month. Concerns about the government's 2012 budget also contributed to the French market's losses, as investors worried that proposed cost-cutting measures could set off labor protests. The budget is expected to be presented on May 23, 2011 actively traded shares, telecommunication giant Alcatel Alsthom edged up 1.2 francs to 392. Britain's General Electric said Friday it is exploring a merger between its GEC-Alsthom unit and Framatome. GEC-Alsthom is a 50-50 joint transportation and engineering venture between GEC, a United Kingdom engineering group unrelated to General Electric of the U.S., and Gann Reading. Framatome is a state-owned nuclear power equipment company; in which Alcatel owns a 44% stake. Elsewhere, state-controlled insurer Groupe des Assurances continued to lose ground after its real-estate lending unit UIC posted heavy losses for the first half of the year. In addition, investors are worried that the insurer will lose money when it sells banking unit CIC. Groupe des Assurances dropped 2.7% to close at 120.6 francs. Retailing group Pinault-Printemps-Redoute lost 35 francs to 1623 on some profit-taking after a strong recent performance.
