CAC Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - French stocks are modestly higher on Tuesday, continuing to benefit from U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to delay tariffs on European Union goods. Data showing a less than expected increase in French consumer price inflation in the month of May is aiding sentiment.

However, the market is moving in a very narrow range amid uncertainty about global economic growth due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and a lack of meaningful progress in Iraq nuclear talks.

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 17.03 points or 0.22% at 7,845.16 a few minutes ago.

STMicroElectronics is gaining about 2.7%. Stellantis is up nearly 2%, while Thales, Schneider Electric and Airbus are up 1.3 to 1.5%.

Edenred, Capgemini, Legrand, Publicis Groupe, Dassault Systemes, Eurofins Scientific, Carrefour, Sanofi, Safran and Kering are moderately higher.

Veolia Environment, Essilor, ArcelorMittal, Bouygues, Orange and Renault are down 0.5 to 0.8%.

Preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's consumer price inflation moderated slightly in May to the lowest level in more than four years amid a slowdown in costs for services and a continued fall in energy prices.

The consumer price index rose 0.7% on a yearly basis in May, slower than the 0.8% stable increase seen in April. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to rise to 0.9%.

Further this was the lowest inflation rate since February 2021, when prices had risen 0.6%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.1% in May, reversing a 0.6% increase a month ago.

EU-harmonized inflation also slowed to 0.6% from 0.9% in the prior month. Monthly, the HICP edged down 0.2% versus an increase of 0.7% in April.

Data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed Europe new car registrations declined in the four months to April as uncertainty over the trade tariffs weighed on demand.

New car sales fell 1.2% in the year-to-date period compared to the previous year. Among big-four economies, Spain reported a robust sales growth of 12.2% in the January to April period.

Meanwhile, sales in Germany decreased 3.3% and that in France slid more sharply by 7.3%. Italy reported a moderate fall of 0.6%.

However, Europe car sales rebounded 1.3% on a yearly basis in April, following a 0.2% fall in March.