BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks gained some ground in positive territory Thursday morning, extending gains from the previous session, as worries about inflation and trade eased a bit, prompting investors to pick up shares.
A rebound by oil prices limited market's upside. Investors also remained focused on political developments as nationwide strikes and protests are set to take place in several cities today over the cost of living and the deterioration of public services and education.
In addition to digesting the latest batch of regional economic data, investors continued to track earnings news for their moves.
The benchmark CAC 40, which climbed to 8,285.81 earlier in the session, was up 54.74 points or 0.67% at 8,232.63 a few minutes before noon.
Legrand jumped nearly 6% after reporting earnings per share of Euro 1.46 for the third quarter, compared with Euro 1.11 a year ago. Revenue for the third quarter came in at Euro 2.93 billion, compared with Euro 2.19 billion in the year-ago quarter.
ArcelorMittal moved up 6% after the world's second-largest steelmaker's quarterly core profit topped expectations.
Bouygues gained about 3.6% after the conglomerate upgraded its full-year outlook.
Saint-Gobain climbed 2.5% and Safran moved up 2%, while Societe Generale, Schneider Electric, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Euronext, Eiffage, Vinci and Airbus gained 1%-1.8%.
Air France-KLM skyrocketed 13%. The airline group reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter operating profit, driven by strong demand for non-stop services to India and Asia, alongside the continued expansion of its premium offering.
STMicroelectronics shed about 2%. Hermes International and TotalEnergies both dropped by about 1.25%. Kering, Thales and LVMH posted modest losses. Engie drifted lower despite posting improved results over the first-nine months of 2026.
Data from the statistical office INSEE showed industrial production in France fell 0.5% month-on-month in September, following a 0.4% decline in August, defying expectations of a 0.3% rebound. On a yearly basis, activity dropped 1.3%, the most since April 2025, and following a 0.2% gain in August.
The S&P Global France Construction PMI fell to 38.8 in October, down from 39.8 in the previous month, data from S&P Global showed.
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