CAC 40 Modestly Higher At Noon As Stocks Recover After Weak Start

(RTTNews) - French stocks started off on a weak note Thursday morning but regained some lost ground subsequently thanks to some brisk buying at several counters. The mood, however, remains cautious with investors closely following news from the Middle East, and digesting the latest batch of regional economic data.

Investors are also awaiting European Central Bank's Christine Lagarde's speech due later in the day.

The CAC 40 was up 21.95 points or 0.27% at 8,189.68 at noon, recovering from an early low of 8,106.76.

STMicroelectronics is up nearly 6%. Airbus is gaining about 2.5%, and Kering is up nearly 2%. Euronext, Veolia Environment, Orange, Publicis Groupe, Carrefour and Eiffage are up 1%-1.7%.

Pernod Ricard, Bouygues, Schneider Electric, L'Oreal, Unibail Rodamco and Vinci are up with modest gains.

Credit Agricole is down nearly 1.5%. Thales is down 1.3% and EssilorLuxottica is declining by about 1%. Michelin, Sanofi, Bureau Veritas and Stellantis are lower by 0.5%-0.9%.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's industrial production rebounded in January driven by the robust recovery in transport equipment output.

Industrial production expanded 0.5% on a monthly basis, offsetting December's 0.5% decrease. Output was expected to grow 0.4%.

Similarly, manufacturing output grew 0.6% month-on-month, reversing a 0.7% fall in December.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales fell 0.1% month-on-month in January 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in December 2025 and missing market expectations of a 0.3% rise.

On an annual basis, Eurozone retail growth accelerated to 2.0% in January from 1.8% in December, surpassing the market consensus of a 1.7% increase.