In a subdued trading session on Wednesday morning, French stocks showed slight declines as investors took a cautious stance due to a dearth of significant market catalysts. The underlying tone was marked by political ambiguity and apprehension ahead of critical economic data releases, such as the U.S. non-farm payroll report.
The CAC 40 index experienced a modest dip, down by 3.37 points or 0.04%, settling at 7,485.98.
Noteworthy performers included Edenred, which saw an increase of approximately 4.7%. Thales and Société Générale also experienced upward movements, gaining 3.4% and 2.1%, respectively. Safran rose by nearly 1%, while BNP Paribas and TotalEnergies posted modest gains.
Conversely, Eurofins Scientific and Vivendi recorded losses of 3.4% and 3%, respectively. L'Oreal slipped by about 1.25%, with Danone, STMicroelectronics, and Vinci declining between 0.7% and 1%.
Stellantis, the automotive giant, experienced a 0.7% drop. The company announced a partnership between its racing division, Stellantis Motorsport, and Intel Automotive, a subsidiary of chip manufacturer Intel Corp., to serve as its technical partner in Formula E. This collaboration aims to expedite the development of technologies tailored to the electric racing series.
In economic developments, the French statistical office INSEE reported an unexpected decline in consumer confidence, reaching its lowest point in a year at a score of 89.0 in December, down from 90.0 in November.
Furthermore, France's trade balance improved, narrowing to 7.1 billion euros in November from a revised 7.5 billion euros in October. The current account deficit also decreased, standing at 1.7 billion euros in November compared to a revised 1.9 billion euros the previous month. Export values rose to 50.10 billion euros, while imports increased to 57.186 billion euros.
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