CAC 40 Sheds 1% As Stocks Fall On Debt Concerns, Political Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - French stocks fell on Monday, weighed down by rising concerns over the nation's fiscal outlook and political uncertainty ahead of the April 2027 elections.

President Emmanuel Macro is facing stiff resistance from opposition parties as they remain reluctant to compromise with him ahead of the election. According to research reports, France could be nearing a full-blown debt crisis.

The benchmark CAC 40 Was down 77.33 points or 0.98% at 7,819.86 a little while ago.

Schneider Electric tanked nearly 9.5% as investors weighed the scale of the debt load and potential equity dilution after the company's $22.6 billion all-cash offer for PTC at a 42.3% premium to the U.S. industrial software firm's last closing price.

Legrand, Hermes International and Capgemini lost 2.5%, 2.4% and 2%, respectively.

Danone, Kering, ArcelorMittal, Vinci and Saint-Gobain shed 1.3%-1.6%. Societe Generale, Accor, BNP Paribas, Veolia Environment, Publicis Groupe and Bureau Veritas also drifted lower.

Dassault Systemes climbed nearly 3%. Air Liquide gained about 2% after unveiling its new strategic plan through 2030.

Stellantis, Air Liquide, Thales, Eurofins Scientific, Michelin, Thales and EssilorLuxottica gained 1.3%-2%. Sanofi gained a little over 1%.

Carrefour, Renault, Euronext and Orange posted modest gains.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global France Composite PMI rose to 51.1 in September from 48.5 in August but was revised slightly down from a preliminary estimate of 51.2. The private sector PMI rose to 51.2 from 48.0 in August, also marking the sector's first expansion since December 2025. Meanwhile, manufacturing growth slowed, with the PMI falling to 50.6 from 51.1.

Data released by Eurostat showed Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated in August with prices increasing 8.2% on a yearly basis, following July's 5.8% rise. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 8.1%.

On a monthly basis, producer prices grew 1.9%, in line with expectations, and faster than the 1.6% rise posted in July.

Producer prices in the EU climbed 1.9% on a monthly basis and advanced 8% from the previous year.