CAC 40 Dips 0.5% Before ECB Announcement

CAC Futures Updates

French stocks experienced a decline on Thursday, marking the fifth consecutive session of losses, as apprehensions regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East persist. Alongside analyzing regional economic data and corporate earnings reports, investors were also anticipating the European Central Bank’s forthcoming monetary policy announcement later in the day.

The benchmark CAC 40, having previously declined to 7,957.83, was down 45.03 points or 0.56% at 8,027.62, nearly half an hour past noon.

  • Stellantis experienced a decline of 7.4%. The stock declined even as the company announced a turnaround performance for the January-March 2026 quarter. Concerns regarding future performance in the North American market exerted pressure on the stock.
  • Credit Agricole experienced a decline of nearly 6% following results that did not meet expectations. The bank reported a quarterly net profit of 1.68 billion euros, reflecting an increase of 1.8% compared with the same period last year.
  • Societe Generale and BNP Paribas experienced declines of 5.2% and 4.5%, respectively.
  • Renault experienced a decline of approximately 2.1%. Michelin and Schneider Electric experienced declines of 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.
  • EssilorLuxottica, LVMH, TotalEnergies, and L’Oreal experienced a decline.
  • Engie experienced an increase of 2.2%. Veolia Environment experienced an increase of approximately 2%, whereas Capgemini, Carrefour, Bureau Veritas, Orange, Safran, and ArcelorMittal saw gains ranging from 1% to 1.5%.

France’s economy exhibited stagnation in the first quarter, attributed to lackluster domestic demand and declining exports. Furthermore, consumer price inflation reached its peak since mid-2024, propelled by soaring energy prices, as indicated by official data released on Thursday. Gross domestic product experienced stagnation in the first quarter, following a modest expansion of 0.2% in the fourth quarter, as reported by the initial estimate from the statistical office INSEE.

In March 2026, French domestic producer prices experienced a month-on-month increase of 2%, marking the highest level observed in four months. This rise follows an upwardly revised decline of 0.3% in February, according to data released by INSEE. Preliminary estimates indicate that France’s economy experienced stagnation on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the first quarter of 2026, diverging from market expectations and the prior period’s growth of 0.2%. On an annual basis, GDP expanded by 1.1%, following a 1.3% increase in the fourth quarter.