BNP credit rating cut hits French banks A downgrade of BNP Paribas" credit rating cast a shadow over French lenders on Friday. Standard & Poor's downgraded France's biggest lender by one notch to "A plus" from "AA minus" with a negative outlook, citing increased economic risks. Shares in BNP Paribas fell 2.5 per cent to €38.63. S&P also changed its outlook for Crédit Agricole and SocGen from "stable" to "negative" while leaving their ratings unchanged at "A" but sending shares in the two lenders falling further. Crédit Agricole's shares slid 3.6 per cent to €5.78 while SocGen lost 2.7 per cent to €24.22. The wider CAC40 was down 0.6 per cent at 3,392.20 and the FTSE Eurofirst300 fell 0.6 per cent at 1,088.88. Meanwhile, Ericsson slid to the bottom of the regional index after reporting disappointing third-quarter results. The Swedish company reported a 42 per cent fall in third-quarter profit to SKr3.7bn, against a consensus estimate of SKr3.4bn. Shares slipped 5 per cent to SKr57.50. The wider OMX25 lost 0.7 per cent to 2,004.48. News from Belgacom that it would pay a special dividend and raise its 2012 forecasts cheered investors. Shares in the Belgian telecoms company surged 8 per cent to €23.19. Meanwhile, UBS initiated coverage on Eutelsat Communications with a "buy" rating, prompting investors to pile into the stock. Shares rose 2.5 per cent to €24.95. Shares in French luxury group PPR rallied off the back of results on Thursday. The owner of Gucci and Bottega Veneta brands reported a 12 per cent rise in like-for-like sales to €1.6bn in its luxury division in the third quarter, marking a slowdown in the division from the previous quarters. Overall group sales were up 6.6 per cent in the third quarter at €2.5bn. Shares rallied 2.1 per cent on Friday to €133.65.