BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After edging higher in early trades, the French stock market turned a bit weak on Wednesday with investors making cautious moves, digesting earnings news and regional economic data, and continuing to assess the developments in the Middle East.
Investors also looked ahead to the upcoming meeting in Beijing between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 27.98 points or 0.35% at 7,951.94 nearly a quarter past noon. The index had advanced to 8,029.94 earlier in the session.
STMicroelectronics gained more than 5.5%. ArcelorMittal moved up 2.5%. Legrand climbed 1.1%, while Orange, Eurofins Scientific, EssilorLuxottica, Engie, Carrefour, Bureau Veritas and Bouygues gained 0.5%-1%.
Steel tubes maker Vallourec soared 7.5% after reporting impressive Q1 2026 results.
Train maker Alstom surged 3.2% after reporting a record order intake for the second half of fiscal year 2025/2026.
Danone and Eiffage drifted down nearly 2% from their previous closing levels. Thales, Safran, Vinci, Renault, L'Oreal, LVMH, Euronext and Societe Generale shed 1%-1.7%.
In economic news, France's consumer price inflation rose to 2.2% in April, in line with the flash estimate, and up from 1.7% in March, final data from the statistical office INSEE showed.
This was the fastest increase since July 2024, when inflation reached 2.3%. EU harmonized inflation accelerated to 2.5% in April from 2% in the prior month.
Separate data revealed that France's unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 8.1% in the first quarter, marking the highest since the first quarter of 2021.
Eurostat confirmed that the Eurozone economy grew by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter.
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