BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks fell sharply on Monday as rising U.S.-China tensions and continued uncertainty over a Brexit trade deal sapped investors' appetite for risk.
The U.S. is preparing to sanction at least a dozen more Chinese officials over their role in the recent disqualification of Hong Kong legislators, media reports suggest.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Beijing would take countermeasures should the U.S. continue down the 'wrong path.'
On the Brexit front, a senior EU official reportedly said it is still impossible to say if there will be a trade deal between the European Union and Britain before the deadline of Dec 31.
The benchmark CAC 40 fell 63 points, or 1.1 percent, to 5,546 after rising 0.6 percent on Friday.
Societe Generale declined 1.6 percent. The French lender and Crédit du Nord Group's boards of directors have approved the merger of their respective retail banking networks, according to French financial newspaper Les Echos.
BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole fell over 2 percent, tracking a decline in euro zone bond yields.
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