CAC 40 Rises Over 1% As Stocks Extend Gains Amid Easing Trade War Concerns

(RTTNews) - French stocks gained in strength on Thursday, extending the upward momentum seen in late afternoon trading in the previous session, amid fading concerns about a trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Donald Trump dropped planned tariffs on eight European countries and ruled out using force to take Greenland.

"We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay?" Trump said in his speech at the World Economic Froum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.

Rather than using military force, Trump called for "immediate negotiations" with Denmark to "discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had a very productive meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on how NATO ?allies can ?work collectively to ensure Arctic ?security, including not just Greenland but the seven NATO nations with land in the Arctic.

Shares from financials and luxury sectors posted impressive gains.

The benchmark CAC 40, which advanced to 8,186.37 earlier, was up 84.54 points or 1.05% at 8,153.71 nearly half an hour past noon.

ArcelorMittal, the top gainer in the benchmark index, moved up by about 4.5%. Eiffage, STMicroElectronics, Michelin, Danone and Veolia Environment advanced by 2.5 to 3.1%.

Orange gained 3.6% and Bouygues moved up by about 2.5%. Orange and Bouygues, along with Iliad's Free said they are in negotiations with Altice Group to buy a large part of its telecommunications activities in France.

BNP Paribas, Vinci, Societe Generale, Capgemini, Schneider Electric, Unibail Rodamco, Kering, Engie, Publicis Groupe, Eurofins Scientific, LVMH, AXA, Euronext, Hermes International and Stellantis gained 1 to 2%.

Thales drifted down by 2.5%. EssilorLuxottica lost about 0.6%, while TotalEnergies, Dassault Systemes and Renault posted modest losses.