CAC 40 Modestly Higher; Healthcare Stocks Among Notable Gainers

(RTTNews) - French stocks are modestly higher on Wednesday, even as investors remain cautious, digesting regional economic data, and assessing the potential impact of the U.S. government shutdown.

Pharmaceuticals stocks are faring well after the U.S. enabled patients to access discounted prescription drugs through a new federal platform.

The benchmark CAC 40, which slipped into negative territory at the start, was up 34.52 points or 0.44% at 7,930.46 a few minutes ago.

ArcelorMittal is gaining 5.3%. Sanofi is rising 4.3%. Renault is up 2.5% and Stellantis is up nearly 2%.

Credit Agricole, Eurofins Scientific, LVMH, Schneider Electric, Engie, Bureau Veritas, Edenred and TotalEnergies are gaining 1 to 1.85%.

Publicis Groupe, Michelin, BNP Paribas, STMicroElectronics, Saint Gobain and STMicroElectronics are up with modest gains.

Thales is declining by 1.65%. Legrand is down 1.6%, while Safran, Orange, Unibail Rodamco, Euronext and Bouygues are down 0.4 to 1.25%.

On the economic front, the HCOB France Manufacturing PMI fell to 48.2 in September from 50.4 in August, compared with a flash reading of 48.1, data from S&P Global showed.

Eurozone manufacturing activity worsened in September reflecting a reduction in new orders and a sharper fall in job shedding, final purchasing managers' survey data compiled by S&P Global showed.

The HCOB manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.8 in September from 50.7 in August. The reading was above the flash estimate of 49.5.

Flash estimate from Eurostat showed Eurozone inflation accelerated in September on services and food prices. Inflation rose to 2.2% in September, in line with forecast, from 2% in August. Meanwhile, core inflation held steady at 2.3%.

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