- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
Eurozone stocks hit after EU rebukes France
Eurozone stock markets slid Wednesday after the European Commission reprimanded France for breaching the EU's budget rules, a further blow for the country in the midst of political turmoil ahead of surprise elections.
London rose on a sharp slowdown in UK inflation, while telecoms giant Vodafone stock jumped two percent after the mobile phone giant offloaded most of its stake in Indian mobile tower operator Indus Towers for $1.8 billion.
Paris led the fallers after the European Union's executive arm placed France back in the EU's public spending sin bin for the first time since President Emmanuel Macron rose to power in 2017.
Investor sentiment has been rocked ever since Macron called a snap election last week in response to a far-right surge in EU elections.
Macron's centrist bloc is currently trailing third in polls behind Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party and a new left-wing alliance New Popular Front.
Investors fear that French public finances could worsen significantly as a result of either tax-cutting policies by the far right -- or the repeal of pension reforms by the left.
"The French CAC once again finds itself at the bottom of the pile, with Goldman Sachs warning that a Le Pen victory would see the country's debt burden swell to the highest level since 1950," Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony in reference to Wednesday's performance.
Elsewhere, Asian stock markets finished mixed following yet another record showing in New York on Tuesday, which was fuelled by data that boosted US interest rate cut hopes.
The below-forecast May US retail sales figures pointed to signs of fatigue among American consumers -- a crucial driver of growth -- suggesting the world's number one economy was slowing and giving the central bank room to ease monetary policy.
The reading helped to slightly offset a surprisingly large jump in US jobs creation that pointed to a still-resilient labour market despite a long-running campaign of rate hikes and stubbornly high inflation.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq clocked up more records, driven again by a surge in demand for Big Tech, with chip giant Nvidia overtaking Microsoft to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
Nvidia, a titan in the artificial intelligence sector, hit a market capitalisation of $3.349 trillion after cruising nearly 3,500 percent higher in the past five years. And one analyst predicted it could even hit $5 trillion in the coming year, according to Bloomberg News.
Wall Street is closed for trading on Wednesday for a public holiday.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,576.21 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 18,076.08
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,891.28
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,196.20
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 38,570.76 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.9 percent at 18,430.39 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,018.05 (close)
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.2 percent at 38,834.86 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0744 from $1.0743 on Tuesday
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.39 pence from 84.50 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.84 yen from 157.85 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2731 from $1.2711
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $81.43 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $85.25 per barrel
burs-rfj/bcp/rl
L.Durand--AMWN