CAC 40 Edges Higher On Manufacturing Boost Before Central Bank Decisions

(RTTNews) - France's CAC 40 was modestly higher a little past noon on Thursday, with investors awaiting the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, as well as crucial inflation and personal consumption expenditure readings from the U.S.

Data showing an improvement in French manufacturing confidence in the month of December aided sentiment to some extent.

The BoE is scheduled to announce its rate decision at 7 am ET, while the ECB's decision is due at 8:15 am ET.

The BoE is expected to lower interest rate by 25 basis points, while the ECB is widely seen holding rates steady.

The CAC 40 Paris was up 22.02 points or 0.27% at 8,108.09 about half an hour past noon.

Eurofins Scientific, up nearly 3%, was the top mover in the benchmark index. EssilorLuxottica gained 1.6%, while Safran, Unibail Rodamco and Pernod Ricard gained 1 to 1.1%.

Engie, Bouygues, Bureau Veritas, Danone, Airbus, Euronext, Pernod Ricard, Orange, Veolia Environment, Saint Gobain and TotalEnergies posted modest gains.

Among the losers, Renault and Stellantis both drifted down by about 1.5%. Kering shed 1.33%, while Edenred, Societe Generale and LVMH lost 0.5 to 0.7%.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed the confidence among French manufacturers rebounded strongly in December to the highest level in over one-and-a-half years, climbing to 102.0, from 98.0 in November. Economists had expected the index to remain stable at 98.0.

The rebound at the end of the year was mainly evident in the manufacturing of other transport equipment, the survey said.

The overall business confidence index, which comprises the responses of business leaders from sectors such as manufacturing, construction, services, retail trade, and wholesale trade, strengthened to 99 in December from 98 in November. Meanwhile, the employment climate index declined to 95 from 96.