AC 40 Moderately Lower As Investors React To Results

(RTTNews) - With stocks turning in a mixed performance as investors react to a slew of earnings updates, the French equity index swung back and forth across the unchanged line on Wednesday. Geopolitical concerns hurt sentiment. Also, investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day.

Joint strikes in Iraq by the United States and Saudi Arabia, targeting Iran-backed militias, raised concerns about a prolonged war in the Middle East.

The CAC 40, which climbed to 8,502.48 but fell to 8,389.57 later on, was down 48.31 points or 0.57% at 8,410.47 about an hour past noon.

Hermes International tanked more than 10%. The luxury apparel, accessories, and other products company reported a fall in net earnings for the first half of fiscal 2026. For the six-month period, the company reported net income of EUR 2.238 billion, or EUR 21.32 per share, compared with EUR 2.246 billion, or EUR 21.39 per share, in the same period last year.

Shares of food maker Danone dropped more than 4% despite posting solid first-half results. The company reported net income of EUR 1.175 billion, or EUR 1.81 per share, compared with EUR 1.040 billion, or EUR 1.61 per share, in the same period last year.

EssilorLuxottica shed more than 3%. Thales, Schneider Electric, Air Liquide, Eurofins Scientific, Carrefour, Orange, AXA and Dassault Systemes lost 1%-2%. Veolia Environment, Eiffage, Michelin and STMicroElectroncis also drifted lower.

Kering surged 11.8% to its highest level since early February after Gucci delivered better-than-expected sales.

Bureau Veritas climbed 7.5%. Capgemini, Stellantis and Renault gained 2.3%-3%. TotalEnergies moved up 1.8%. Engie, Publicis Groupe, Safran and Sanofi posted modest gains.

Legrand added 1.7% after raising its sales guidance, citing continued robust investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.