CAC 40 Climbs Higher On U.S.-Iran Peace Deal, Weak Oil Prices

(RTTNews) - French stocks remained firmly up in positive territory a little past noon on Monday thanks to sustained buying at several counters as investors react to the news about U.S.-Iran peace deal and the sharp drop in oil prices.

Brent crude fell to a three-month low, dropping to $82.52 a barrel, losing about 5.5%.

The preliminary framework of the Iran peace deal includes halting the U.S. blockade of Iran and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The resultant sharp drop in oil prices has helped ease inflation concerns, adding to the upbeat sentiment in the markets.

According to reports, an official signing ceremony is scheduled to take place in Switzerland on June 19.

US President Donald Trump announced the agreement on Truth Social on Sunday, saying, "The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete."

"Let the oil flow!" the U.S. President exclaimed and declared that the "great deal" would bring "peace and security to the whole region."

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 93.77 points or 1.11% at 8,444.64 about half an hour past noon.

Stellantis, the top gainer in the CAC 40 index, was up 5.4%. Saint-Gobain climbed about 5.1%, while Renault and Safran moved up 4.5% and 4.4%, respectively.

Airbus climbed 3.75%. Schneider Electric moved up nearly 3% after it announced a partnership with Foxconn for AI data centers.

Societe Generale, EssilorLuxottica, Bureau Veritas, Michelin, LVMH, Capgemini, Vinci, Hermes International, Eiffage and BNP Paribas gained 2%-3%. Legrand, STMicroelectronics, AXA, Credit Agricole and Publicis Groupe also posted strong gains.

TotalEnergies fell 4.8%. Orange drifted lower by about 2.5%. Carrefour and Engie shed 1.4% and 1%, respectively. Danone, Air Liquide, Sanofi and L'Oreal posted modest losses.

In economic news, Eurozone industrial production logged a marginal expansion in April, with consumer and intermediate goods offsetting declines in capital and energy sectors, official data showed.

Industrial output rose 0.1% from March, when production advanced 0.4%, Eurostat reported. Output was expected to climb 0.2%. Nonetheless, this was the third consecutive rise in production.

A separate data from Eurostat showed the euro area trade balance shifted to a deficit in April due to the surge in imports. The trade balance showed a shortfall of EUR 1.0 billion compared to a surplus of EUR 4.9 billion in March. In the same period last year, the trade surplus was EUR 8.7 billion.