CAC 40 Declines, Weighed Down by Financial Stocks Ahead of ECB

A Morning Marked by Caution

The pace is cautious on Euronext Paris. The trend leans toward declines, with 25 stocks in the red compared to 15 rising within the benchmark index. The SBF 120 is following the same slope, down by 0.34%.

Operators are focusing on Thursday's ECB meeting. Money markets are fully anticipating a 25 basis point increase, which would bring the deposit rate to 2.5%, described as an « insurance » hike in response to the resurgence of inflation due to the energy shock. Eurozone inflation rose above 3% in August, primarily due to energy prices.

In the background, geopolitics remains ever-present. Brent crude is hovering around $99 per barrel today, not far from its six-week high, amid reciprocal attacks between the United States and Iran around the Strait of Hormuz. This tension maintains a risk premium on energy markets.

Food and Energy Sectors Stand Out

Leading the gains, Bureau Veritas increases by 1.74% to 27.52 euros. The group is closely followed by defensive consumer stocks. Carrefour rises by 1.72% to 16.55 euros, and Danone advances by 1.57% to 64.58 euros.

Air Liquide appreciates by 0.95% to 172.38 euros. In the wake of firm oil prices, TotalEnergies climbs 0.89% to 77.99 euros. The oil group also announced that it will transfer the operator role of the Papua LNG project to ExxonMobil, reducing its stake to 20% while retaining its share of liquefied natural gas volumes. CIC Market Solutions has maintained its « hold » position with a target of 86.54 euros.

Banks, Luxury, and Technology Under Pressure

The financial sector is experiencing the sharpest declines. Société Générale drops 2.10% to 73.49 euros, hit by JP Morgan's downgrade from « overweight » to « neutral » and its price target cut from 87 to 81 euros. BNP Paribas falls 1.36% to 103.12 euros, despite Deutsche Bank maintaining a « hold » rating and raising its target to 109 euros. In the insurance sector, AXA slides 1.77% to 43.38 euros following the announcement of its partnership with Publicis Sapient to roll out AI agents across the group.

The luxury sector also weighs on the index, with Hermès International being the sharpest faller on the CAC 40, down 2.31% to 1,441 euros. Technology is not spared either: STMicroelectronics loses 2.06% to 45.68 euros.

Across the Atlantic, the latest data is from Friday. At the close of Friday, September 4, at 10:00 PM Paris time, the S&P 500 had dropped 0.38% to 7,718.60 points, and the Dow Jones fell 0.51% to 53,414.25 points, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.21% to 29,544.16 points.