Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange ended in the red on Tuesday, weighed down by increasingly uncertain prospects in the Middle East, and by the fall of its heavyweights Safran and Thales.
Published on: 04/21/2026 - 6:27 p.m.
The CAC 40 lost 1.14% to 8,235.72 points, down 95.33 points.
The day before, the Parisian index had already closed down (-1.12%) to 8,331 points, after a rebound on Friday.
“A few hours before the ceasefire expires, the United States has practically no choice but to brandish the threat of a new military escalation”, but “this is precisely what is making the stock markets nervous”, notes Andreas Lipkow, of CMC Markets.
Entering into force on April 8, in a war which has left thousands dead and shaken the world economy, the truce is due to end on Wednesday evening. The holding of a new round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran in Islamabad is becoming more and more distant.
Donald Trump accused Iran on Tuesday of having "violated the ceasefire on numerous occasions", in a message on his Truth Social network.
The government of Pakistan declared Tuesday evening that it was still awaiting a response from Iran regarding whether or not to send a delegation to Islamabad for a new round of negotiations with the United States.
No confirmation has also been obtained from the American side that President JD Vance would go to Pakistan. Iranian state television indicated that "no delegation" was going there, specifying that Tehran was expecting a "change in behavior" from the United States.
However, if "the Strait of Hormuz is not opened very quickly, shortages will threaten, with growth slowing and inflation spiraling out of control", estimates Nicolas Forest of Candriam.
In this context, oil prices started to rise again at the end of the session. Around 6:00 p.m. (Paris time) Brent, the benchmark for crude in Europe, rose 2.65% to $98.01 per barrel. Its American equivalent, WTI, climbed 4.27% to $93.44.
Government interest rates also rose, amid fears of renewed inflation following this jump in oil prices.
On the value side, Thales lost 5.92% to 247.70 euros, despite the increase in its turnover to a level higher than expectations. This is the figure for “orders which +missed” estimates, according to UBS analysts.
Safran also fell significantly (-6.80% to 282.40 euros), after a downward revision of Jefferies' recommendation, which changed the title from "to buy" to "to hold", against a backdrop of "more complicated market environment".
The French IT group Atos (-2.74% to 36.24 euros) recorded a further drop in its sales in the first quarter, marked by the sale of its strategic activities to the State, according to a press release published Tuesday.
© 2026 AFP
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