CAC 40 Tumbles 2%

2026-03-19 16:51 By Felipe Alarcon 1 min. read

The CAC 40 index tumbled 2% to close at 7,808 on Thursday as the escalation of military conflict in the Middle East and hawkish central bank signals triggered a broad sell-off across European equities.

Global markets reeled from the inflationary implications of Iranian strikes on regional energy infrastructure which sent Brent crude prices surging and heightened fears of sustained supply chain disruptions.

Luxury heavyweights led the downward momentum with Hermes plunging 5.8% and Kering dropping 4.6%, while the banking sector faced intense pressure as Societe Generale and BNP Paribas fell 5.7% and 3.2% respectively.

These losses were partially offset by a 4.2% surge in TotalEnergies as investors pivoted toward the energy sector amid the spike in crude oil benchmarks.

Market participants remain cautious as the ECB balances cooling growth against the pro-inflationary risks, while major industrial players like Schneider Electric and Airbus recorded losses exceeding 3.2%.



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