CAC 40 Up Slightly In Lackluster Trade

(RTTNews) - The French stock market is somewhat subdued in lackluster trade on Friday due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and continued uncertainty about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. An acceleration in inflation weighed as well on sentiment.

The CAC 40, which eased to 8,630.24 earlier, was up 5.44 points or 0.06% at 8,656.00 a little while ago.

Dassault Systemes jumped more than 4%. Capgemini climbed nearly 2.5%, while Publicis Groupe, Airbus and Stellantis gained 1.6%, 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.

Thales, Bureau Veritas, Hermes International, Eurofins Scientific, Safran and Pernod Ricard gained 0.5%-1.1%.

Specialty vaccine maker Valneva soared 20% after the European Medicines Agency validated the marketing application for its Lyme disease vaccine candidate.

Engie dropped about 1.2%. Sanofi lost nearly 1%. STMicroelectronics, Danone, Vinci, BNP Paribas, Air Liquide, Kering and Veolia Environment also drifted lower.

Data from INSEE showed the annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 2.1% in July from 1.8% in June, confirming preliminary estimates. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6%, rebounding from a 0.3% decline in June.

The EU-harmonised CPI rose 2.4% year-on-year, up from 2.0% in June, while increasing 0.6% month-on-month.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone June Trade Surplus came in at EUR 8.6 billion, up from EUR 4.8 billion last year. Eurozone second-quarter GDP rose 0.4% over the preceding quarter.