French stocks experienced a downward trend on Thursday, reflecting ongoing uncertainty regarding a potential peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran, particularly after Iran rejected an American proposal to halt hostilities. Iran has asserted that the conclusion of the conflict will transpire solely according to Tehran’s own conditions and schedule. In the meantime, an Israeli official has allegedly stated that Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, who ‘was responsible for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,’ has been killed in a strike in Bandar Abbas.

Concerns regarding a potential interest rate hike by the European Central Bank have also had a negative impact. Joachim Nagel, a member of the European Central Bank and President of the Bundesbank, indicated that the central bank might consider increasing interest rates at its upcoming meeting in April, contingent upon the potential for an inflation surge in the Eurozone stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. ECB President Christine Lagarde stated on Wednesday that any sustained rise in inflation beyond a temporary spike could justify a hike in interest rates. France’s benchmark index CAC 40 experienced a decline of 65.59 points, reflecting a decrease of 0.84%, currently standing at 7,780.96. The index experienced a decline, reaching a low of 7,758.76 earlier this morning.

• ArcelorMittal experienced a decline of approximately 3.4%.
• Legrand experienced a decline of 2.7%, whereas Safran, Stellantis, Societe Generale, Capgemini, BNP Paribas, Airbus, and Credit Agricole saw decreases ranging from 1.8% to 2%.
• Thales, Renault, Saint Gobain, LVMH, Accor, EssilorLuxottica, Hermes International, AXA, Publicis Groupe, and Engie experienced declines ranging from 0.7% to 1%.
• Kering experienced an increase exceeding 2.5%.
• Carrefour experienced an increase of approximately 1.1%, whereas TotalEnergies, Danone, and L’Oreal saw rises of 0.8%, 0.6%, and 0.5%, respectively.

French firm Vinci experienced a decline following its agreement to acquire a toll highway portfolio in India from Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund 2. Data indicated that consumer sentiment in France declined in March, reaching its lowest point in four months, driven by apprehensions regarding future inflation. The consumer sentiment index declined to 89 from 91 in the previous month, aligning with expectations. The survey revealed a significant increase in the proportion of households anticipating that prices will accelerate over the next twelve months, amid a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Consumers’ assessments of their prospective personal financial circumstances deteriorated, as evidenced by the index declining to -12 from -8. Meanwhile, the metric associated with their historical financial condition remained steady at -20. The index that gauges the prospective standard of living in France declined to -62 in March, down from -55 the previous month. Their future inflation expectations experienced a significant rise, with the corresponding index advancing to -1 from -29.