(RTTNews) - France's equity benchmark CAC 40 was up marginally at noon on Tuesday in cautious trade amid hopes of a fresh round of talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan this week.
According to reports, Pakistan is pressing ahead with the groundwork for a second round of talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad as a fragile ceasefire hung in the balance, even though it remained unclear whether Tehran would send a delegation.
The CAC 40 was up 20.58 points or 0.25% at 8,351.63 a few minutes before noon.
Stellantis climbed 2.2%. Capgemini moved up 1.7%, while Vinci and STMicroelectronics gained 1.4% and 1.25%, respectively.
Legrand, Dassault Systemes, EssilorLuxottica, Hermes International, TotalEnergies, AXA, Pernod Ricard, Schneider Electric, Engie and Saint Gobain gained 0.7%-1.1%.
Vivendi shares gained over 1%. The media firm reported a small increase in its first-quarter net revenue, driven by persistent strength in its videogame unit.
Thales shed about 4%. Safran lost 2.5%, while Bureau Veritas, Danone, Kering, Orange and Renault posted modest losses.
In economic news, a report from the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the Euro Area dropped sharply by 11.9 points to -20.4 in April, its lowest level since December 2022 and well below expectations of -3.6.
The assessment of the current situation also weakened, with the index falling 13.1 points to -43, while inflation expectations remained broadly unchanged at 79.
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