BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks are up in positive territory on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, and lifting the market to a more than 1-month high, amid easing fears of a trade war.
Following announcements of U.S.-UK pact, and U.S.-China deal, reports about a positive progress in the EU bloc's discussions with the U.S. for considerable tariff reductions have bolstered investor sentiment.
Investors are also assessing the likely interest rate moves by central banks in upcoming meetings.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned in a speech on Thursday that near- zero interest rates are likely to be a thing of the past, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks could goose inflation higher and present a 'difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks.'
In Europe, Latvian ECB Governing Council member Martins Kazaks indicated market pricing of a 25bps cut at the June 5 meeting is 'relatively appropriate'.
The benchmark CAC, which has been moving in a narrow range since the opening bell, was up 51.14 points or 0.65% at 7,904.61 a few minutes ago.
Among the prominent gainers, Essilor is up 3.6% and Sanofi is rising 2.3%. Kering is up 1.7%, while AXA, Thales, Danone and Airbus are advancing 1.2 to 1.4%.
Safran, Hermes International, Renault, TotalEnergies, Orange, Engie, Dassault Systemes and Air Liquide are moderately higher.
Among the losers, ArcelorMittal is declining 1%, Saint Gobain is down 0.8% and Eurofins Scientific is lower by about 0.6%.
Teleperformance, Schneider Electric, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are modestly lower.
In economic releases, France's jobless rate rose marginally in the first quarter, the statistical office INSEE reported.
The ILO unemployment rate stood at 7.4%, up from 7.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The rate matched economists' expectations. The number of unemployed people increased 64,000 from the previous quarter to 2.4 million.
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