CAC Flat In Cautious Trade As Investors Focus On Earnings

(RTTNews) - French stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Thursday with investors making cautious moves despite growing optimism the U.S. and EU will arrive at a trade agreement soon.

Investors are digesting corporate earnings updates, and await the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement due later in the day.

The benchmark CAC 40 was down 4.44 points or 0.06% at 7,845.99 a little while ago.

BNP Paribas is gaining 3.2% thanks to stronger than expected earnings report for the second-quarter. Societe Generale is up nearly 3%, while Schneider Electric and Legrand are up 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively.

Credit Agricole, Saint Gobain, Pernod Ricard, Kering and Safran are advancing 1.3 to 2%. Sanofi, Teleperformance, Orange, Eurofins Scientific, Bureau Veritas and Airbus are also up in positive territory.

STMicroElectronics is tanking more than 10% after it swung to a loss in Q2 on lower revenue.

Dassault Systemes is down 5.1%. Stellantis, TotalEnergies and LVMH are down 1.6 to 2%. Capgemini, L'Oreal, Accor, Vinci, Hermes International and Publicis Groupe are modestly lower.

On the economic front, data from INSEE showed France's manufacturing climate indicator slipped to 96 in July, in line with expectations and slightly down from June's revised figure of 97. The business climate indicated held steady at 96 for the third straight month in July.

The HCOB Flash Composite PMI for France rose to 49.6 in July 2025 from 49.2 in the previous month, better than market expectations of 49.3, flash estimates showed. The manufacturing PMI score was 48.4 in July, compared to 48.1 in June, while services PMI was 49.7, up slightly from 49.6 a month earlier.

Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed new car sales in Euro zone fell 7.3% year-on-year in June, in contrast to the 1.6% increase in May.

Car registrations in Germany decreased 13.8% and that in France dropped 6.7%. Italy's car sales plunged 17.4%. By contrast, Spain reported an annual increase of 15.2%.