BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The French market is modestly higher on Wednesday with corporate earnings announcements providing some direction. Despite data showing a sharp drop in French construction sector activity, and fresh concerns about tariffs following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat that he will impose levies on chips and pharmaceuticals, the mood is a bit positive amid hopes the Fed will cut interest rate next month.
The U.S. President has called a pledge of investment totaling $600 billion made in the EU-U.S. trade deal a gift and threatened the EU with 35% blanket tariffs if it fails on the pledge.
Trump also said that tariffs on semiconductor and chip imports would be announced as soon as next week to boost U.S. manufacturing and that planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. could eventually reach as high as 250%.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 17.53 points or 0.23% at 7,638.57 a little while ago.
Edenred is gaining 3.2%. Accor is up 2.7% and TotalEnergies is rising 2%.
ArcelorMittal, Pernod Ricard, Stellantis, Saint-Gobain, Credit Agricole, Vivendi, Vinci, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Unibail Rodamco, Renault and Hermes International are up 1 to 1.7%.
STMicroElectronics is down by about 2%. Eurofins Scientific is lower by about 1.4%, while Kering, EssilorLuxottica, L'Oreal and Danone are down 0.7 to 1%.
Data from S&P Global showed the HCOB Construction PMI in France fell to 39.7 in July from 41.6 in the previous month, indicating a deeper contraction in construction activity and marking the sharpest downturn since last September.
Meanwhile, a report from INSEE said private payroll employment in France stalled in the second quarter of 2025, with a decline of 4,800 jobs, bringing the total to 20.97 million - the lowest level in nearly three years, preliminary estimates showed.
A report from Eurostat showed retail sales in the Eurozone increased 0.3% month-over-month in June 2025, rebounding from a 0.3% fall in the previous month. Year-on-year, retail sales in the Euro Area increased 3.1% in June, the most since September 2024, compared to a 1.9% gain in the previous month.
The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI edged down to 44.7 in July from 45.2 in the previous month, marking its steepest decline since February.
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