CAC 40 Edges Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - France's equity benchmark CAC 40 edged higher on Wednesday, snapping a six-day losing streak, as investors picked up some stocks despite lingering concerns about U.S.-Iran tensions. A drop in bond yields and bargain hunting at a few counters contributed to market's rise.

Investors looked ahead to the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting for clues about the central bank's interest rate moves.

Oil prices moved higher after reports suggested that most shipowners are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz because of a lack of clear signals on its reopening.

Brent crude futures jumped more than 1% after a bulk carrier was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, raising the prospect of ongoing disruptions to supply.

Iran maintained that the strategic waterway will not be opened until the United States meets its demands. Iran's Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi today warned Gulf states that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor U.S. military will be considered participation alongside U.S. forces.

The CAC 40 was up 32.09 points or 0.38% at 8,541.45 about half an hour past noon.

Stellantis jumped 3.6%. TotalEnergies and Renault climbed 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Hermes International, L'Oreal, Safran, Veolia Environment, ArcelorMittal, Vinci, LVMH, Capgemini, Airbus and Eiffage gained 0.8%-1.1%.

Kering, Saint-Gobain, Unibail Rodamco, Bouygues, Michelin, Sanofi and Schneider Electric posted modest gains.

Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and STMicroelectronics shed 1.7%, 1.4% and 1.25%, respectively.

Pernod Ricard, BNP Paribas, Publicis Groupe and AXA drifted down 0.4%-0.9%.

In economic news, final data from Destatis showed Eurozone inflation rose slightly in July, edging up to 2.9% from 2.8% a month earlier. The rate came in line with the estimate published on July 31.

Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to 2.5% from 2.4% in the previous month. The core rate also matched the preliminary estimate.

On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices climbed 0.2% in July, as initially estimated.