Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange ended down on Friday, continuing a week marked by uncertainties and a situation which remains “opaque” in the Middle East.

Published on: 04/24/2026 - 23:13

The CAC 40 index lost 69.50 points (-0.84%) to 8,175.82 points.

Over the week as a whole, the index fell by 3.17%.

This Friday, Parisian investors were not sufficiently reassured by the announcement of the return of an Iranian envoy to Pakistan, without any reaction so far from the United States.

“Nervousness remains high due to the still opaque situation in the Middle East, and investors do not wish to take significant risks for the moment,” summarizes Andreas Lipkow of CMC Markets.

“Since the start of the war” launched on February 28, “investors have been conservative on Fridays” while awaiting possible decisions from American President Donald Trump on the weekend, notes Mike O'Sullivan, chief economist at Moonfare, to AFP.

For almost two months, investors have feared the consequences of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, such as the oil supply crisis, inflation, and the slowdown in activity.

In this context, Paris and the rest of Europe appear more fragile than the United States.

“American stocks are holding up better than Europe, both because they are less exposed to energy and because the American rating is more oriented towards growth stocks, while cyclical segments suffer more,” summarizes Florian Ielpo of Lombard Odier AM.

Stellantis and Renault in reverse

The automobile manufacturers Stellantis (-4.91% to 6.83 euros per share) and Renault (-3.60% to 29.76 euros per share) suffered two of the strongest underperformances this Friday.

Conversely, the software publisher Dassault Systèmes (+1.71% to 19.60 euros per share) progressed the most.

Unaffected by the economic situation, the semiconductor specialist STMicroelectronics continues its rise (+1.17% to 43.37 euros per share), recording an increase of 16.55% over the last seven days, especially after the announcement of good results on Thursday.

And in one year, the stock jumped 112.44%, while the CAC 40 rose 8.25% over the same period.

© 2026 AFP

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