CAC 40 Recovers After Mild Setback

(RTTNews) - After a slightly positive start and a subsequent drop into negative territory, French stocks are moving higher past mid morning on Thursday with a few frontline counters seeing some buying interest.

Tariff fears and a report showing a deterioration in French manufacturing confidence are weighing a bit on sentiment.

The benchmark CAC 40, which drifted down to 2,829.40, has advanced to

Sanofi is up 1.7%. Societe Generale is gaining 1.4% and BNP Parbias is up 1.1%. Vinci is up nearly 1%, while AXA, Pernod Ricard, Bouygues and Dassault Systemes are advancing 0.5 to 0.8%.

Renault is down nearly 2%. Accor is lower by about 1.25%, while Unibail Rodamco, Eurofins Scientific, Kering, Vivendi and Publicis Groupe are down 0.4 to 0.7%.

Survey results from the statistical office INSEE revealed the French manufacturing sentiment index registered a score of 95 in January, down from 97 in December. The score was expected to drop to 96.

The balances of opinion associated with the level of order books, both global and foreign, strongly retreated, mainly due to manufacturing of "other transport equipment."

The balance of opinion on past production rebounded sharply in January, with the index rising to -1 from -9. Meanwhile, assessment regarding the current level of finished-goods inventories retreated. The corresponding indicator fell to 10 from 15 a month ago.

Business managers' view on order books sharply retreated, the survey showed. The order book balance plunged to -27 from -18. Likewise, the foreign order books slid to -19 from -8.

The balance on economic uncertainty felt by business leaders fell in January. The index dropped to 29 from 32.

Confidence among business managers from the main sectors, namely manufacturing, construction, services, retail and wholesale trade rose marginally in January. The business confidence index edged up to 95 from 94 in the previous month.