CAC 40 Modestly Higher On Weak Oil Prices, Easing Middle East Tensions

(RTTNews) - The French market moved modestly higher on Wednesday as weak oil prices amid renewed optimism over Middle East peace efforts and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz aided sentiment.

Brent crude futures dropped to $84.56 a barrel, losing about 3%, on reports that Oman and Iran had discussed establishing a temporary joint maritime corridor in the Strait of Hormuz.

However, caution ahead of French presidential election cycle and a lack of fresh earnings of economic data from the domestic front limited market's upside.

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 35.15 points or 0.42% at 8,474.35 nearly half an hour past noon.

ArcelorMittal climbed 3.25%. Kering and Safran moved up 2% and 1.9%, respectively. Saint-Gobain, Airbus, BNP Paribas, Accor and Hermes International gained 1%-1.5%.

LVMH, EssilorLuxottica, L'Oreal, Schneider Electric, Sanofi, Michelin, STMicroelectronics, Vinci and Air Liquide also moved higher.

Capgemini dropped 2.5%. TotalEnergies, Dassault Systemes, Renault, Euronext and Thales eased by 1%-1.5%.