CAC 40 Down Pares Early Gains, Down Slightly At Noon

(RTTNews) - French stocks gave up early gains slipped slightly below the flat line on Wednesday as the mood turned cautious despite flash survey data from S&P Global showing strong private sector activity in the month of September.

The firm start this morning came on strong economic data as well as oil's sharp decline.

Brent crude prices fell to $97.91 a barrel amid easing concerns over global oil supplies. Investors were reacting to reports suggesting that Iran is ready to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports.

Additionally, it was said that Saudi Arabia has restarted its East-West oil pipeline and is preparing to resume Red Sea oil exports from Yanbu.

However, stocks turned weak as the session progressed following oil prices recovering from day's lows and managing to emerge above the flat line. Brent crude futures were at $99.60 a barrel a little while ago, gaining about 0.35%.

The benchmark CAC 40, which advanced to 8,199.66 earlier in the session, was down 5.19 points or 0.06% at 8,149.72 at noon.

Kering slipped nearly 2%. Orange drifted lower by about 1.6%, while Stellantis, Sanofi, Unibail Rodamco, Eiffage and STMicroelectronics lost 1%-1.25%.

L'Oreal, Pernod Ricard, Bureau Veritas, Vinci, Renault, Eurofins Scientific, Bouygues and Capgemini also weakened.

Societe Generale moved up 1.85%. Euronext gained about 1.2%, while Safran, Credit Agricole, Publicis Groupe, Air Liquide, BNP Paribas, EssilorLuxottica, Engie, Legrand and Careefour posted modest gains.

Data from S&P Global showed France's private sector activity returned to growth in September and marked the fastest expansion in over two years.

The headline composite output index posted 51.2 in September, up from 48.5 in August.

The private sector activity ended the spell of contraction that commenced at the start of the year. Moreover, the reading signalled the strongest growth since August 2024.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index hit a 10-month high of 51.4 compared to 48.0 in August. Meanwhile, the factory PMI dropped to 50.3 from 51.1.

Eurozone Sep Flash Composite PMI reading for September came in at 53.1, compared to 52.0 in August. The PMI was reading was expected to be at 51.7.