French Equities Rise As Crude Slides On Middle East Diplomacy

(RTTNews) - French stocks gained some ground in positive territory on Monday as worries about inflation eased a bit following a drop in oil prices. Investors looked ahead to monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan this week.

The ECB is widely expected to hold rates this week. However, the central bank is likely to raise interest rate at its next meeting, scheduled to take place in December.

Oil prices fell sharply amid reports of diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions in West Asia. A Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran on Sunday as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to de-escalate reginal tensions in coordination with the United States.

Saudi Arabia partially resumed operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, even as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis vowed to keep striking the facility, calling it a "military target."

In an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, U.S. President Donald Trump said it's "getting to be decision time" on whether he will make a deal with Tehran or resume attacks.

Brent crude front-month futures dropped to $109.22 a barrel before recovering to $110.11, still down nearly 1.5% from previous close.

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 53.78 points or 0.7% at 7,836.61 a little over half an hour past noon.

Hermes International climbed 3.6%, lifted by higher earnings. The company reported first-half revenue of €8.2 billion, up 6% year-on-year.

Stellantis moved up 3.5%, while Renault, Accor, Eiffage and Societe Generale gained 2.3%-2.5%.

BNP Paribas advanced 2.1% and Capgemini rallied 2%. Eurofins Scientific, Legrand, Engie, Airbus, Saint Gobain, LVMH, Kering, AXA, Credit Agricole, Thales, Vinci, Schneider Electric, Michelin and Publicis Groupe gained 1%-1.5%.

Bollore rose over 2 percent after reporting solid group revenue results for the third quarter and nine-months of 2026.

TotalEnergies, EssilorLuxottica and Carrefour shed 0.7%-1%. Danone, Orange and Euronext drifted modestly lower.