CAC 40 Moderately Lower At Noon

(RTTNews) - French stocks were largely subdued Monday morning with investors staying cautious amid a lack of earnings or economic data, and concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Iran the "clock is ticking" and there won't be anything left of Iran unless it agrees to a deal.

For its part, Iran issued a stark warning to Washington, with senior figure Mohsen Rezaei cautioning that escalating military pressure could turn the Sea of Oman into a "graveyard" for U.S. vessels.

Concerns about inflation and possible rate hikes weigh on sentiment. Brent crude futures rose to $112 a barrel before easing to $110.19, still up by about 0.9% from previous close.

The benchmark CAC 40, which dropped to a low of 7,854.28 earlier in the session, was down 57.36 points or 0.72% at 7,895.19 a few minutes past noon.

Saint Gobain, Kering, Hermes International and Stellantis shed 2%-2.3%. LVMH, Accor, Bouygues, EssilorLuxottica, L'Oreal, Eiffage and Michelin dropped 1.1%-1.7%.

Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Capgemini, Airbus, Safran, Dassault Systemes, Bureau Veritas and Legrand slipped 0.5%-0.9%.

Among the gainers, Publicis Groupe climbed 2.35%, STMicroelectronics moved up nearly 2% and TotalEnergies advanced 1.7%.

Carrefour, Engie, Euronext, Orange and Danone gained 0.3%-0.75%.