The French market is notably lower in afternoon trading Tuesday, as fears about the spread of the soverign debt crisis continued to haunt markets in the region. Sentiment was impacted by weak cues from Asia/Pacific and the lower U.S. index futures.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is declining 1.35 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is retreating 1.15 percent.
The CAC 40 index opened lower at 3,742, compared to the previous close of 3,808. The index has been trading below the flat line and is currently losing 2.31 percent.
STMicroelectronics and Alcatel Lucent are declining 3.3 percent each. Airbus maker EADS is losing 3.1 percent.
Peugeot is falling 2.7 percent and Renault is losing 2 percent.
Cement giant Lafarge is declining 1.6 percent. JPMorgan cut its price target on the stock to 46.60 euros from 58 euros.
Among lenders, Credit Agricole is losing 2.1 percent. BNP Paribas and Natixis are moderately lower, while Societe Generale is the lone gainer on the index having gathered 0.1 percent. Exane BNP reduced its price targets on Credit Agricole and Societe Generale.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is retreating 1.73 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is declining 1.32 percent. Switzerland's SMI is dropping 1.39 percent.
In economic news, Germany's statistical office on Tuesday confirmed inflation figures for June. EU harmonized inflation remained steady at 2.4 percent in June. Consumer price inflation remained above the two-percent threshold for the fifth consecutive month, the Federal Statistical Office said in its final report.
Meanwhile, EU harmonized inflation in France rose slightly in June, Insee said. The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices registered an annual increase of 2.3 percent, slightly bigger than last month's 2.2 percent rise. Economists were expecting the rate to remain unchanged at 2.2 percent.
British annual inflation slowed unexpectedly in June, but stayed well above the 2 percent target, figures published by the Office for National Statistics revealed. Consumer prices rose 4.2 percent year-on-year in June. Economists were expecting the annual increase to stay steady at 4.5 percent in June.
Across Asia/Pacific, major markets ended notably lower. Australia's All Ordinaries lost 1.8 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1.72 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 3.1 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.43 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow closed down 1.2 percent, the Nasdaq fell 2 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 1.8 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for August delivery is falling $1.11 to $94.04 per barrel and August gold is sliding $2.2 to $1547 a troy ounce.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.