(RTTNews) - French stocks edged up slightly on Tuesday after suffering heavy losses in the previous session on worries that soaring inflation and aggressive policy tightening by central banks will continue to cripple growth.
France's private sector contracted in August for the first time since the pandemic related disruptions in early 2021, flash survey results from S&P Global showed earlier today.
At 49.8, the flash composite output index was down from 51.7 in July and signaled the first reduction in private sector output levels across France since February 2021.
Although services activity growth continued to weaken, the overall downturn in the private sector was driven principally by the manufacturing activity.
The services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to a 16-month low of 51.0 from 53.2 in July. The manufacturing PMI came in at 49.0, in line with expectations.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 12 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,390 after declining 1.8 percent the previous day.
