CAC 40 Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - France's equity benchmark CAC 40 climbed higher on Tuesday, led by gains in luxury stocks and on hopes of strong quarterly earnings from big name companies. Higher oil prices amid renewed geopolitical concerns following tensions around the Strait of Hormuz limited market's upside.

Brent crude futures climbed to $73.31 a barrel, gaining nearly 2%, before easing slightly to $72.98 a barrel. Oil prices moved higher on reports that a couple of commercial vehicles were struck by Iranian missiles along the Strait of Hormuz late Monday.

The CAC 40, which advanced to 8,545.68 earlier, was up 29.20 points or 0.34% at 8,509.07 just before noon.

Pernod Ricard climbed 4.75%. Carrefour moved up 3.3% and L'Oreal gained 2.75%. Renault, Kering and Hermes International advanced 2%.-2.2%.

Stellantis, EssilorLuxottica, Danone, Thales and Dassault Systemes gained 1.6%-1.8%. Capgemini, LVMH, Saint-Gobain, Eurofins Scientific, TotalEnergies, Publicis Groupe, Orange and Legrand gained 1%-1.5%.

STMicroelectronics fell 5.5%. Schneider Electric lost 2.1%, while Safran, Bouygues, BNP Paribas and Airbus drifted down 0.5%-1%.

In economic news, France's trade deficit widened sharply in May as exports dropped for the first time in three months, data from the customs office showed.

The trade balance showed a deficit of EUR 6.9 billion compared to a shortfall of EUR 5.4 billion in April. In the same period last year, the deficit totaled EUR 6.5 billion.

Exports declined 2% on a monthly basis in May due to a drop in military equipment sales. Meanwhile, imports grew 0.7% from April, reflecting a rise in acquisitions of transport equipment and auto products.

On a yearly basis, exports advanced 5.9% and imports increased 5.3%.