French Stocks Fall As Oil Prices Rise Amid Middle East Tensions

(RTTNews) - French stocks fell on Thursday, extending recent losses, weighed down by higher oil prices amid a lack of progress in Middle East peace talks.

Oil prices climbed higher again as investors weighed the prospect of improved Saudi export flows against the potential for further supply disruptions.

Brent crude front month futures rose to $106.50 a barrel before dropping to $105.10, still up by about 2%, after climbing around 4% to snap a five-day losing streak on Wednesday amid heightened uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations.

After U.S. President Trump threatened to 'annihilate' Iran, Tehran said it is 'ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force.'

The benchmark CAC 40, which dropped to 8,049.56 earlier, was down 27.98 points or 0.34% at 8,095.43 nearly half an hour past noon.

STMicroelectronics lost more than 3%. Thales dropped 2.7% and Societe Generale drifted down 2.5%. Stellantis and Capgemini shed 2.1% and 2%, respectively.

Renault fell 1.7% despite Eurozone car sales moving up by about 4.5% last month. EssilorLuxottica, Dassault Systemes, Airbus, Bureau Veritas, Credit Agricole and Legrand lost 1%-1.6%.

Carrefour, TotalEnergies and Pernod Ricard gained 1.1%-1.4%. AXA, L'Oreal and Eurofins Scientific advanced 0.6%-0.9%.

In economic news, France's manufacturing business climate index stood at 101 in September, unchanged from August's revised figure and July's reading, but slightly below market forecasts of 102.

French consumer confidence remained weak and steady for the second straight month in September. The consumer sentiment index came in at 86.0 in September, the same as in the previous two months. Meanwhile, economists had expected the score to fall to 85.0.

France's overall business climate indicator score fell to 96 in September from 98 in the previous month and moving further below its long-term average of 100.

The euro area private sector expanded at the fastest pace since April 2023 amid solid expansions in both the services and manufacturing sectors, survey data from S&P Global revealed Wednesday. The flash composite output index advanced to 53.1 in September from 52.0 in the prior month. The score was seen at 51.7.