The CAC 40 Index Closes 0.04% Lower

The CAC 40 inched 0.1% lower to close at 8,279 on Friday following the release of domestic and Eurozone economic data. Eurozone retail sales fell 0.6% in July, following a 0.2% increase in June and missing market expectations for a 0.3% rise. Luxury stocks closed mixed, with Hermes losing 1.6% and LVMH shedding 0.4%, while L’Oréal rose 1.4% and Kering edged 0.2% higher. France’s construction activity recorded its sharpest contraction since May 2020, while overall Eurozone construction activity contracted at a faster pace than in July. Despite this, Vinci gained 0.7%, while Eiffage edged 0.3% lower. TotalEnergies also weighed on the index, dropping 2.5% as oil prices pulled back. Dassault Systèmes tumbled 6.5%, tracking weakness in AI-exposed hyperscalers on Wall Street. Industrials were mostly higher. Legrand rose 3.3% after Deutsche Bank raised its price target to €160 from €150. STMicroelectronics gained 1.8%, tracking strength among US chipmakers. The index lost 1.3% on the week.

The CAC 40 Index fell 3 points or 0.04 percent on Friday to close at 8283 points. Leading the losses are Dassault Systemes (-6.49%), Capgemini (-3.27%) and Publicis (-2.75%). Top gainers were Legrand (3.28%), STMicroelectronics (2.65%) and Accor (2.47%).

The CAC 40 edged up 0.1% to around 8,293 on Friday, building on modest gains from the previous session as investors pared expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike later this month. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated he could back a pause this month if inflation continues to ease, leading markets to scale back bets for a quarter-point rate hike to roughly even odds from about 70% earlier this week. On the economic front, final estimates showed France’s Construction PMI fell to 37.3 in August from 41.5 in July, pointing to a steeper downturn in the sector and marking the sharpest contraction since May 2020. On the corporate front, Legrand jumped 3.2% after Deutsche Bank raised its price target to €160 from €150, citing exceptionally strong organic growth momentum despite the company's significant exposure to the still-weak building sector. Over the week, the CAC 40 remains on course for a fourth consecutive weekly decline.