French Stocks Mixed In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - French stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as investors made cautious moves, looking ahead to U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for clues on Federal Reserve's interest rate path. Data showing a faster contraction in construction activity in France weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark CAC 40 was down 6.10 points or 0.07% at 8,280.30 nearly half an hour before noon.

STMicroelectronics, Legrand and Accor moved up 2.5%-2.7%. Renault climbed 2%, while Stellantis and ArcelorMittal advanced 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

Saint-Gobain, Airbus, Veolia Environment, Schneider Electric, Sanofi, Engie, LVMH, Kering and Pernod Ricard posted modest gains.

Alstom advanced more than 1% after it signed an agreement with VIA Rail Canada to design, engineer, manufacture and support a new Long-Distance, Regional and Remote fleet for passenger services across Canada.

Dassault Systemes dropped more than 4%. Capgemini drifted lower by about 2.2%, while Publicis Groupe, EssilorLuxottica, Societe Generale and TotalEnergies shed 1.2%-1.7%.

BNP Paribas, Michelin, Eurofins Scientific, Orange, Hermes International and Air Liquide lost 0.5%-1%.

Data from S&P Global showed France Construction PMI slipped to 37.3 in August from 41.5 in July, the sharpest drop since May 2020. The report said activity fell across all three construction categories, with residential and commercial construction recording the largest declines.