CAC 40 Up Nearly 1.5%

(RTTNews) - Despite data showing an acceleration in the nation's consumer price inflation, and a deterioration in Eurozone economic sentiment, French stocks are notably higher on Friday thanks to easing trade tensions after the U.S. struck a deal with China to expedite rare earth shipments.

Beijing said Washington would lift "restrictive measures" while Beijing would "review and approve" items under export controls.

Easing concerns about Israel-Iran conflict too contribute to the positive mood in the market.

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 108.27 points or 1.43% at 7,665.58 a few minutes ago.

Schneider Electric is rising 6%. Legrand is gaining about 4.5% and Kering is up 2.5%, while Publicis Groupe is advancind 2.3%.

Saint Gobain, Societe Generale, Stellantis, L'Oreal, Dassault Systemes and LVMH are up 1.5 to 2%. Safran, Bureau Veritas, BNP Paribas, Capgemini, Hermes International, Pernod Ricard and Essilor are also up with strong gains.

Accor and Thales are down 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively. STMicroElectronics is lower by about 0.8% and Carrefour is down 0.5%.

France's inflation accelerated more than expected in June largely due to higher services costs but the overall rate remained below the 2% target, preliminary estimate from the statistical office INSEE showed.

Consumer prices increased 0.9% year-on-year in June, faster than the 0.7% rise in May. The rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 0.7%.

EU harmonized inflation stood at 0.8%, while it was expected to rise moderately to 0.7% from 0.6% in May. Final data is due on July 11.

Eurozone economic sentiment deteriorated unexpectedly in June, survey data from the European Commission showed.

The economic confidence index fell to 94.0 in June from 94.8 in May. The score was forecast to rise to 95.1.

The industrial confidence index posted -12.0 in June, down from -10.4 a month ago. The reading was seen at -9.9.

Likewise, the consumer confidence indicator dropped to -15.3, in line with the flash estimate, from -15.1 in May.