French Stocks Decline Amid Oil Surge, AI Spending Concerns
(RTTNews) - French stocks drifted lower on Thursday as rising oil prices amid Middle East tensions, and renewed concerns about tech valuations due to increased spending on AI infrastructure rendered the mood cautious. Investors also looked ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement.
Brent crude futures climbed to $98.75 a barrel before easing slightly to around $98.30 a barrel, still up as much as 4.5% from previous close.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 97.77 points or 1.16% at 8,340.11 about a quarter past noon.
STMicroelectronics plunged 14.7%, weighed down by a sell-off in the tech space amid valuation concerns due to rising spending on AI infrastructure.
Eurofins Scientific dropped about 6.6%%. Kering shed 3.3%, while Safran lost 2.8%. LVMH, Hermes International, L'Oreal and Societe Generale fell 2%-2.8%.
BNP Paribas slipped 1.6% despite reporting better-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue.
Pernod Ricard, Accor, EssilorLuxottica, BNP Paribas, Danone, Airbus and Schneider Electric also dropped notably lower.
TotalEnergies gained 2.8% after delivering a robust second-quarter performance.
Thales moved up 4.5%. Dassault Systemes climbed 2.3% after delivering solid Q2 results and confirming full-year objectives.
Automotive supplier Valeo rallied 3.4% after first-half sales surpassed market expectations.
In economic news, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Europe new car sales growth accelerated notably in June as market support measures lifted demand for electric vehicles.
Car sales in Eurozone increased 13.6% on a yearly basis after rising 3.2% in May.
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