BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks climbed higher on Thursday with the mood turning positive following Israel and Lebanon agreeing to implement a ceasefire. Lower oil prices and comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that U.S.-Iran talks could produce a positive outcome by this weekend contributed as well to the positive mood in the market.
Brent crude futures dropped to around $96 a barrel, losing about 1.6%.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 67.65 points or 0.83% at 8,218.07 a few minutes past noon.
Capgemini climbed up nearly 7%. Dassault Systemes moved up 5%, while Airbus, LVMH, EssilorLuxottica, Kering, Eurofins Scientific, Euronext, Sanofi and Pernod Ricard gained 2.5%-3.1%.
Hermes International, Safran and Renault gained 2.3%, 2.1% and 2%, respectively. Publicis Groupe, Saint-Gobain, Thales, Vinci, Accor, L'Oreal, AXA, Eiffage and Bouygues also posted impressive gains.
STMicroelectronics fell 5.2%. Vivendi dropped nearly 5%, a day after losing its fight against EU antitrust regulators.
Schneider Electric shed about 1.1%, while Legrand, TotalEnergies and ArcelorMittal drifted down marginally.
In economic news, the S&P Global Eurozone Construction PMI rose to 43.7 in May 2026 from 41.7 in April, when the sector recorded its sharpest contraction since August 2024.
The S&P Global France Construction PMI rose to 39.6 in May 2026 from 38.1 in April, signaling a slight improvement in operating conditions.
Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales declined more than expected in April, falling by 0.4%, reflecting decreases in non-food and auto fuel sales. Retail sales rose 0.8% in March and were expected to drop 0.3% in April.
On a yearly basis, retail sales growth eased to 1% from 2.1% in March.
Retail sales in the EU27 dropped 0.5% in April from the previous month but increased 0.9% from the last year.
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