BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Despite recovering from early lows, the French stock market's benchmark index CAC 40 remained in negative territory a little past noon, weighed down by a sharp decline in tech major STMicroelectronics and auto stock Renault.
Weak French manufacturing confidence data and continued contraction in manufacturing and services sector growth hurt as well.
The CAC 40 was down 51.78 points or 0.62% at 8,348.33 nearly half an hour past noon. The index had dropped to 8,304.57 earlier in the day.
STMicroelectronics tumbled 7.3% as technology stocks reeled under pressure amid concerns that AI-driven valuations have become overstretched.
Renault shed 5%, while Stellantis, Schneider Electric and Legrand lost 3.4%-3.7%. Hermes International, Michelin and ArcelorMittal drifted lower by 1.7%, 1.4% and 125%, respectively.
Eurofins Scientific climbed 2.3%. Capgemini and Pernod Ricard moved up 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
Danone, Sanofi, Orange, Dassault Systemes, EssilorLuxottica, Accor and Carrefour gained 1%-1.5%. Thales, Bureau Veritas and LVMH moved modestly higher.
Survey results from the statistical office INSEE showed confidence among French manufacturers decreased in June and returned to its long-term average.
The manufacturing confidence index dropped to 100.0 in June from 100.2 in May. The score was forecast to fall to 101.0.
Further, the survey showed that the overall business confidence index, which is calculated from the responses of the business managers from manufacturing, construction, services, retail, and wholesale trade, improved to 94 in June from 93 in May.
Data from S&P Global showed France's flash Composite PMI rose to 47.6 in June from 44.9 in May, surpassing market expectations of 46.0, driven by a return to growth in manufacturing activity and a softer contraction in the services sector
The manufacturing PMI for June came in at 50.7, up from 49.7 in May, while the Services PMI moved up 47.4 from 44.3%.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
