CAC Modestly Higher After Firm Start

(RTTNews) - French stocks remain in positive territory a little before noon on Monday despite coming off early highs. Data showing a slower pace of decline in French manufacturing and services sector activity in the month of March aided sentiment.

Still, the mood in the market remains cautious with investors awaiting greater clarity on U.S. tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump said there will be "flexibility" on his reciprocal tariff plan and that he would discuss tariffs with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 21.44 points or 0.27% at 8,064.39 a few minutes ago. The index climbed to 8,114.45 earlier in the session.

Thales is rising 3.2%. Renault is gaining about 2.3%, while ArcelorMittal is up 1.7%. Societe Generale and Stellantis are advancing 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.

Airbus, Veolia Environment, BNP Paribas, Teleperformance, AXA, Safran, Air Liquide, STMicroElectronics, Michelin, Accor, Edenred, Publicis Groupe and Bouygues are up with moderate gains.

Vivendi SE is gaining 1.5% after reducing its stake in Telecom Italia to 18.4%.

Kering is declining 3.4%. Sanofi is down 1.7% and Dassault Systemes is down by about 1%. Carrefour, Danone, Hermes International and Orange are also notably lower.

Flash survey results published by S&P Global showed France's economic downturn continued in March but the pace of decline slowed moderately driven by tentative signs of recovery in the manufacturing sector. The HCOB composite output index posted a two-month high of 47.0 in March, up from 45.1 in February. However, a reading below 50.0 indicates contraction. The private sector has contracted for the seventh straight month.

The survey showed that both the manufacturing and service sectors posted shallower contractions in output at the end of the first quarter. The services Purchasing Managers' Index rose more-than-expected to 46.6 in March from 45.3 in the prior month. The reading was seen at 46.3.

At 48.9, the factory PMI hit a 26-month high and climbed from 45.8 in February. The score was forecast to improve to 46.2.

Total new orders received by private sector companies declined in March but at a less severe pace than in the previous month, reflecting slower falls in new business receipts at both manufacturers and service providers.