CAC 40 Up 0.5%; STMicroElectronics Rises Over 7%

(RTTNews) - Despite lingering concerns about trade tensions, French stocks are gaining some ground in positive territory on Wednesday with investors expecting an interest rate cut from the European Central Bank on Thursday.

The benchmark CAC was up 38.35 points or 0.49% at 40 7,802.19 a few minutes ago.

STMicroElectronics is up with a strong gain of 7.3% after the company's chief executive Jean-Marc Chery said that the French-Italian chipmaker has seen signs of an upcycle that will boost its results in the coming quarters.

Speaking at an event hosted by BNP Paribas, the CEO said the company would deliver at least the mid-point of its second-quarter guidance. It had forecast revenue of $2.71 billion at mid-point for the quarter in its last earnings report.

Airbus is up 3.7% after Bloomberg News reported that China is considering placing an order for hundreds of Airbus SE aircraft as soon as next month.

Teleperformance is gaining about 3%. L'Oreal and Pernod Ricard are up 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. Saint Gobain, Dassault Systemes, Kering, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal, Capgemini and Legrand are advancing 1.3 to 1.6%.

Bureau Veritas, Safran, Accor, Air Liquide, Hermes International, Edenred, AXA and Publicis Groupe are also up in positive territory.

Thales is down 1.4%. Bouygues, Essilor, Carrefour, Renault and Stellantis are moderately lower.

On the economic front, the HCOB France Composite PMI for May 2025 was revised higher to 49.3, compared to the flash estimate of 48, and above April's 47.8. The services PMI came in at 48.9 for May, compared to 47.3 in April, while the manufacturing PMI increased to 49.8 from 48.7.

Data showed Eurozone's services sector contracted modestly in May, with the final PMI Services reading falling to 49.7 from April's 50.1. The U.K. services PMI was finalized at 50.9, up from April's 27-month low of 49.0.