CAC 40 Drifts Lower On Weak Data

French stocks edged lower on Friday after a survey showed business activity in the country grew at the slowest rate in four months in August.

Data compiler IHS Markit said its final services PMI dropped to 56.3 points from 56.8 in July – marking its lowest reading since April as staff shortages and costs pressures worsened.

Also, Eurozone retail sales fell 2.3 percent over the previous month in July, the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said – coming in below forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise.

Investors now await U.S. employment data later in the day for clues on the Federal Reserve’s timeline and pace of asset tapering.

The benchmark CAC 40 fell 18 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,745 after closing 0.1 percent higher on Thursday.

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