BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - France's equity index CAC 40 moved higher Thursday morning, supported by some encouraging earnings updates. Despite paring some gains subsequently, the index remained firmly up in positive territory a little while ago.
Investors digested the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates. Geopolitical news were in focus as well.
The CAC 40, which advanced to 8,145.44 earlier, was up 51.98 points or 0.64% at 8,118.66 nearly half an hour before noon.
Schneider Electric climbed more than 3% and Legrand gained nearly 3%. STMicroElectronics moved up 2.1%, after the chipmaker forecast first-quarter revenue slightly above market expectations.
ArcelorMittal, TotalEnergies, Pernod Ricard and EssilorLuxottica gained 1.3 to 1.6%.
Michelin advanced nearly 1%, while Engie, Danone, Orange, AXA and Societe Generale posted moderate gains.
Shares of spirits maker rose more than 8% but gave up most of the gains subsequently. The stock moved higher as the company's third-quarter sales beat consensus on organic growth.
Among the losers, Eurofins Scientific weakened by 4.7%. Dassault Systemes and Capgemini dropped by 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. Publicis Groupe drifted down 1.5% and Saint Gobain lost 1.1%.
Sanofi slipped by about 0.7%. The drug major reported a loss in its fourth quarter, compared to prior year's profit, despite higher net sales. Looking ahead for fiscal 2026, the company still projects continued profitable growth.
In 2026, sales are expected to grow by a high single-digit percentage at CER and business EPS at CER is expected to grow slightly faster than sales, delivering profitable growth.
Further, the Board of Directors has proposed a dividend for 2025 of 4.12 euros, up 5.1% from last year, subject to approval by shareholders at the 2026 annual general meeting on April 29. Sanofi also said it intends to execute a share buyback program in 2026 of 1 billion euros.
Danone, Hermes International, Sanofi, Thales, Euronext, Stellantis and BNP Paribas slipped 0.3%-1%.
In economic news, a report from the European Commission said the Eurozone Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) climbed to 99.4 in January 2026, up 2.2 points from a revised 97.2 in December 2025, marking its highest level since January 2023. Consumer confidence also strengthened, reaching -12.4, its highest since February 2025.
Data from the European Central Bank showed that lending to Eurozone businesses increased 3% year-on-year to a record €5.324 trillion in December 2025, underscoring a continued recovery in credit demand, supported by the European Central Bank's recent policy easing.
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