CAC 40 Dips Slightly in Cautious Trading

Kering

French stocks are exhibiting a mixed performance on Tuesday morning as investors adopt a cautious approach, concentrating on developments from the Middle East where tensions remain elevated, notwithstanding U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to delay potential strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days. Elevated oil prices and lackluster regional PMI data exert pressure on investor sentiment. Brent crude futures rose above $104 a barrel today before retracting slightly to approximately $102, maintaining a significant increase from the previous close, in light of reports concerning substantial explosions in Tehran and other urban areas. Iran has refuted claims of engaging in discussions with the U.S. aimed at resolving the conflict.

Iran’s foreign ministry stated that Trump’s remarks were ‘part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time’ for military plans. In the interim, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that operations against Iran and Lebanon persist unabated. The benchmark CAC 40, having declined to 7,681.79 following a rise to 7,773.63, was down 9.81 points or 0.12% at 7,716.37 just moments ago.

  • Kering, L’Oreal, Publicis Groupe, and Euronext experienced increases ranging from 1.5% to 1.7%.
  • Air Liquide experienced an increase of 1.3%, whereas Eiffage and Carrefour saw gains ranging from 1% to 1.1%.
  • Accor, Unibail Rodamco, TotalEnergies, Orange, Stellantis, Eurofins Scientific, Sanofi, Engie, and Veolia Environment recorded slight increases in their performance.
  • STMicroelectronics, Airbus, Schneider Electric, and Dassault Systemes experienced declines ranging from 1.2% to 1.6%.
  • Safran, Saint-Gobain, Societe Generale, Renault, EssilorLuxottica, Capgemini, BNP Paribas, and Hermes International experienced a decline ranging from 0.5% to 0.9%.

Data indicated that the S&P Global France Composite PMI decreased to 48.3 in March, down from 49.9 in February, falling short of market expectations which were set at 49.3, as per flash estimates. The services sector PMI declined to a five-month low of 48.3 in March, down from 49.6 in February. Concurrently, manufacturing output experienced its first contraction of the year, registering a reading of 48.5 for March, a significant decrease from February’s 51.6.

The S&P Global Eurozone Composite PMI registered a decrease to 50.5 in March, a decline from February’s 51.9 and falling short of market expectations, which were set at 51.0, based on preliminary data. The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI increased to 51.4 in March 2026, up from 50.8 in February, surpassing expectations of 49.4, according to flash estimates. The S&P Global Flash Eurozone Services PMI decreased to 50.1 in March 2026, down from 51.9 in February, falling short of the anticipated 51.1.