Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange is moving in the red on Thursday, investors digesting a burst of company results including those of Renault and Airbus, as well as the report of the last meeting of the American central bank (Fed).

Published on: 02/19/2026 - 10:31

Around 10:00 a.m. Paris time, the flagship CAC 40 index lost 53.32 points, or 0.63%, to 8,375.71 points.

The day before, the CAC 40 ended up 0.81% to settle at a new closing high, at 8,429.03 points. It thus exceeds its previous closing record at 8,362.09 points, dating from January 9.

During Wednesday's session, the CAC 40 also peaked at 8,438.52 points, a new absolute record, surpassing its previous session record of 8,437.35 points on February 12.

“In the European markets, the quarterly results of Renault and Airbus are the center of attention,” comments Andreas Lipkow for CMC Markets. “The earnings season is picking up again, which should also have consequences on all markets.”

The Renault group (+3.25% to 32.11 euros in Paris around 10:00 local time) announced on Thursday that it had suffered a net loss of 10.9 billion euros in 2025, linked to an expected revision of the value of its shares in Nissan, but sales were boosted by its electric cars.

As for Airbus (-5.89% to 188.84 euros in Paris), the stock fell sharply after the group published annual results that were generally solid but below analysts' expectations in terms of delivery forecasts.

The European aircraft manufacturer announced a delivery target of 870 commercial aircraft in 2026, a record, but less than the average forecast of analysts cited by Bloomberg.

In addition to the heavyweights of the CAC 40, investors are digesting a multitude of other results on Thursday and the publication on Wednesday of the minutes of the last meeting ("minutes") of the American central bank (Fed).

The Fed's “minutes” “highlighted persistent inflation, adopting a cautious tone regarding upcoming rate cuts,” note Natixis analysts.

Eramet dives

The title of the mining group Eramet fell 20.26% to 48.16 euros around 10:00 a.m. local time on the Paris Stock Exchange, after unveiling a recapitalization project and a net loss of 477 million euros in 2025.

The company, which produces manganese, mineral sands and lithium, announced the day before, during the presentation of its results, that it wanted to strengthen its equity “to the tune of approximately 500 million euros in 2026”.

The principle of this recapitalization was "agreed" with its "reference shareholders", namely the Duval industrial family (37% of the capital) and the State (27%).

However, if this operation can be seen "positively, in the face of excessively high debt", it "could be highly dilutive for existing shareholders", estimate Oddo BhF analysts in a note. If a company issues more shares, the pre-existing shares may lose their value.

Air France-KLM takes off

The stock of the Franco-Dutch air carrier Air France-KLM soared 12.57% to 13.08 euros, after the group reported a historic net profit of 1.75 billion euros in 2025 and an operating profit better than expected.

Investors also welcome "an adjusted operating profit (Ebit) 4% better than analysts' forecasts" thanks to a "decrease in the unit cost per passenger transported", note analysts from the Oddo BhF bank in a note.

© 2026 AFP

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