French stocks saw a notable increase on Tuesday, bouncing back from losses sustained in the previous session, despite ongoing concerns about the nation’s fiscal difficulties and political uncertainty. Declining oil prices and bond yields have contributed to an enhancement in market sentiment. Brent crude futures saw a decrease, hitting a low of $97.91 per barrel, subsequently recovering to $98.14. This still represents a decrease of approximately 2.2% from the previous close. The yield on France’s 10-year government bond decreased to 4.751% this morning.
Stocks across multiple sectors saw significant gains, propelled by ongoing buying activity from the beginning. The benchmark CAC 40, which climbed to 7,916.71 earlier in the day, was up 53.35 points or 0.68% at 7,887.45 nearly an hour past noon.
- Stellantis recorded a rise of 3.7%. Eurofins Scientific and Societe Generale achieved increases of 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively.
- Saint-Gobain, Legrand, BNP Paribas, ArcelorMittal, Veolia Environment, STMicroelectronics, Capgemini, and Vinci recorded increases ranging from 2% to 3%.
- Engie, Sanofi, AXA, Danone, Eiffage, Credit Agricole, Unibail Rodamco, Pernod Ricard, Carrefour, Orange, Kering, Accor, Publicis Groupe, Bureau Veritas, LVMH, and Bouygues saw an uptick between 1% and 1.9%.
- Among the underperformers, Schneider Electric saw a decrease of nearly 3%.
- Shelly Group SE, a Bulgaria-based provider of IoT and smart building solutions, has announced that its board endorses the takeover offer from the French energy technology major.
- Thales experienced a decline of approximately 2.2%, while TotalEnergies, Air Liquide, Renault, and Airbus recorded losses in the range of 0.4% to 1%.
Data indicated that industrial production in France experienced a decline of 0.3% month-on-month in August, contrary to expectations for a 0.3% increase, and following a 0.6% decrease in July. On a yearly basis, industrial output experienced an increase of 0.3%, marking a recovery from a decline of 0.6% observed in July. Over the three months leading to August, industrial production saw a decrease of 0.1% relative to the corresponding period a year earlier.
A report from S&P Global indicated that the S&P Global France Construction PMI increased to 39.8 in September, up from 37.3 in August. However, it remains significantly below the 50 threshold, indicating a persistent downturn across the sector. Another data point indicated that France’s state budget deficit expanded to EUR 159.6 billion during the January-August timeframe, up from EUR 157.5 billion in the same period the previous year. Expenditure rose by 4.4% year-on-year, amounting to EUR 362.97 billion.
