The French market is declining in afternoon trading Wednesday, as European debt worries returned following the failure of the region's leaders to reach an agreement on a second Greek rescue plan. Lenders were lower on worries about a ratings downgrade.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is losing 0.67 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is dropping 0.18 percent.
The CAC 40 index opened lower at 3,851, compared to the previous close of 3,865, and has been trading below the flat line. The index is currently losing 0.30 percent.
Lenders Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Natixis are declining between 2 percent and 0.9 percent.
Moody's Investors Service has placed the financial strength ratings and long-term debt and deposit ratings of Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale on review for possible downgrade, citing their investment in Greece.
Lafarge is falling 1.4 percent. Goldman Sachs cut its price target on the cement giant to 67.80 euros from 70 euros.
Saint-Gobain is down 0.8 percent. Unicredit initiated the stock with a "Buy" rating and a price target of 53.71 euros.
Unicredit also initiated builder Vinci with "Buy" and a price target of 61.67 euros. Vinci is down 0.1 percent.
Dairy giant Danone is gaining 2.2 percent and Airbus maker EADS is adding 1.5 percent.
Carmakers Peugeot and Renault are advancing 0.9 percent and 0.7 pecrent, respectively.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is falling 0.43 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is dropping 0.25 percent. Switzerland's SMI is receding 0.11 percent.
In economic news, U.K. jobless claims increased more than expected in May, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 19,600 to 1.49 million in May, compared to economists' expectation of an increase of 6,500. The claimant count rate came in at 4.6 percent, in line with the consensus forecast.
Eurozone industrial production grew by seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in April from March, data released by Eurostat showed. Economists were expecting a monthly fall of 0.2 percent after staying flat in March.
Across Asia/Pacific, many major markets ended lower. Australia's All Ordinaries lost 0.34 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.90 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.68 percent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.28 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages gave back some ground going into the close but still ended the day firmly positive. The Dow advanced 1 percent, the Nasdaq rose 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for July delivery is sliding $0.81 to $98.56 per barrel and August gold is dropping $5.1 to $1519.3 a troy ounce.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.