BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks moved up sharply on Wednesday on all-round buying after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that will help ensure stability in the critical energy corridor in the Middle East.
The ceasefire brokered by Pakistan calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon. Following the development, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants.
Oil prices tanked, with the Brent crude futures for June plunging nearly 14% to around $91 a barrel amid hopes of resumption in oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
The CAC 40 was up 349.70 points or 4.42% at 8,258.44 a little while ago.
ArcelorMittal soared 11.2%. Safran jumped 10.3%. Societe Generale surged nearly 10%, while Schneider Electric, Saint Gobain, Accor, Legrand and BNP Paribas moved up 8%-9%.
Hermes International, Stellantis, Airbus, LVMH, Renault, Kering, Credit Agricole, EssilorLuxottica, STMicroElectronics, Eiffage, Capgemni, Michelin, Bouygues and Vinci rallied 4.5%-7.8%.
Bureau Veritas, Unibail Rodamco, Dassault Systemes, Publicis Groupe, Sanofi, Pernod Ricard, Veolia Environment and AXA also moved up sharply.
Shares of train manufacturer Alstom gained about 6% after winning a signaling order in Europe valued at approximately €295 million.
TotalEnergies tumbled 5.5% as oil prices tanked. Euronext shed about 1.7% and Orange drifted down 1.1%.
In economic news, data from S&P Global showed the HCOB Construction PMI in France fell further to 38.4 in March from 43.9 in February, pointing to the steepest contraction in the construction sector in 18 months.
France's trade deficit widened significantly to €5.8 billion in February 2026, as exports fell by 0.9% month-on-month to €51.0 billion, while imports jumped 5% to Eurozone producer prices declined in February due to a notable drop in energy prices, according to data released by Eurostat.
Producer prices decreased 0.7% from January, slightly more than the 0.6% fall expected by economists. Prices had increased 0.8% in January. Excluding energy, producer prices edged up 0.1%. Prices of energy were down 2.4% and that of non-durable consumer goods slid 0.2%.
On a yearly basis, producer prices posted a fall of 3%, in line with expectations, following a 2% decrease in January.
Eurozone retail sales declined in February due to a fall in food turnover, data from Eurostat showed. Retail sales dropped 0.2% on a monthly basis in February, in line with expectations, after remaining flat in January.
Year-on-year, retail sales growth slowed to 1.7% in February from 2.1% in the prior month.
Retail sales in the EU27 also decreased 0.3% in February but increased 1.7% from the same period last year.
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