BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks edged lower on Wednesday as investors mulled reports on a possible no-deal Brexit.
As British and European Union officials race to strike a post-Brexit trade deal before the start of next week, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier reportedly told EU ambassadors there may be no deal with the U.K.
Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden told the New York Times he'd leave the phase-one trade deal with China in place while he conducts a full review of the policy toward China in consultation with traditional allies in Asia and Europe.
On the vaccine front, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told BFM TV that European regulators should soon approve a Covid-19 vaccine for the European Union, and that the approval could be obtained later this month.
The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will be available in Britain from next week.
The benchmark CAC 40 slipped 14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,567 after rallying 1.1 percent in the previous session.
Total SE fell 1.3 percent as crude oil nudged lower amid a surprise build up in oil inventories in the U.S. and heightened uncertainty over the OPEC group delaying its planned output increase.
Banks and automakers paced the decliners on fears about a no-deal Brexit. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Renault and Peugeot dropped 1-2 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
