CAC 40 Rises More Than 1% As Stocks Recover Slightly From Recent Sharp Fall

(RTTNews) - French stock market's benchmark CAC 40 is up firmly in positive territory a little past noon on Wednesday, with several shares bouncing back strongly after two successive days of sharp declines.

U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard maritime trade in the Gulf and help stabilize surging global energy prices, is aiding sentiment a bit.

The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has confirmed its readiness to extend political risk insurance and guarantees for energy shipments passing through the Gulf.

The CAC 40 was up 82.88 points or 1.02% at 8,186.71 a little over half an hour past noon.

Stellantis, up 4.5%, is the top gainer in the index. Accor, which suffered big losses in the previous two sessions, is up 4%. Societe Generale is gaining about 3.2%, while STMicroelectronics is adding 3%.

Danone, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal, EssilorLuxottica, L'Oreal, BNP Paribas, Engie and Legrand are gaining 1.8%-2.9%.

Safran, Michelin, Bureau Veritas, Hermes International, Veolia Environment, Eurofins Scientific, Eiffage, Vinci, Airbus and Kering are up 1%-1.6%.

TotalEnergies is declining by about 1.2%. Pernod Ricard, Orange, Capgemini, Dassault Systemes and Air Liquide are down 0.3%-0.6%.

In economic news, the HCOB France Composite PMI for January 2026 was at 49.9 in February 2026, matching the preliminary estimate, up from 49.1 in the prior month. The data suggested that French private sector activity remained largely stagnant in February, with persistent uncertainty affecting demand. The services PMI edged up to 49.6 but remained below 50, signaling ongoing contraction compared to January's 48.4.

Data from Eurostat showed the jobless rate fell to seasonally adjusted 6.1% from 6.2% in December. The rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 6.2%.

Data showed that the unemployment rate in the EU27 came in at 5.8% compared to 5.9% in December.

The HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI climbed to 51.9 in February 2026, up from 51.3 in January, marking the strongest expansion in private sector activity in three months. The HCOB Eurozone Services PMI inched higher to 51.9 in February of 2026 from 51.6 in the previous month, slightly ahead of the preliminary estimate of 51.8 and in line with the initial market expectations.

Industrial producer prices in the Euro Area rose 0.7% month over month in January 2026, reversing a 0.3% decline in December and surpassing market expectations of a 0.2% increase. On an annual basis, producer prices were 2.1% lower than a year earlier, following a 2.0% year-on-year decrease in December.