CAC 40 Down Nearly 1% Around Noon

(RTTNews) - The French stock market's benchmark index CAC 40 dropped notably lower on Friday amid concerns about inflation and interest rates as oil prices moved up due to rising tensions in the Middle East.

Weakness in global tech stocks due to AI-driven jitters hurt as well.

Oil prices moved up sharply as Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and wider region following a fresh wave of strikes by the U.S. against Iran amidst a row over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures climbed to $85.88 a barrel, gaining nearly 2%, before easing slightly to $85.72 a barrel.

The CAC 40 was down 82.59 points or 099% at 8,295.27 a few minutes past noon.

STMicroelectronics plunged 7% with a sell-off in the tech space in global markets causing its slide.

Legrand dropped by about 3%, while Publicis Groupe, Schneider Electric, Vinci, Renault, Eiffage and ArcelorMittal lost 2.1%-2.5%.

Kering, Societe Generale, LVMH, Hermes International, BNP Paribas, Airbus, Saint-Gobain and EssilorLuxottica drifted down 1.5%-2%.

Accor, Safran, Credit Agricole, Stellantis, Euronex, Air Liquide, Pernod Ricard and L'Oreal posted moderate losses.

Orange moved up 2.7%. Thales and Engie gained 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively. Carrefour, Eurofins Scientific, Capgemini, Danone and TotalEnergies climbed 0.6%-1%.

In economic news, Eurozone inflation slowed to a three-month low in June, Eurostat confirmed today. Inflation softened to 2.8f% rom 3.2% in May. This was the lowest rate since March and matched the flash estimate released on July 1.

Similarly, core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, eased to 2.4%, in line with estimate, from 2.6% in the prior month.

On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices edged down 0.1% in June.

Data from the European Central Bank showed the euro area current account surplus rose to EUR 25 billion in May from EUR 17 billion in the previous month. In the same period last year, the surplus was EUR 26 billion.

In the twelve months to May, the current account surplus totaled EUR 272 billion or 1.7% of GDP, down from EUR 318 billion or 2% a year earlier.