CAC 40 Drops Mid-Morning, Hit by Luxury Sector and Middle Eastern Tensions

Strait of Hormuz: Fragile Ceasefire and Geopolitical Fears Create High Tension Session

The Paris session is dominated by renewed concerns coming from the Middle East. Iran is considering imposing a passage toll on tankers transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passageway through which a significant portion of the world's oil trade flows. According to the Financial Times, Hamid Hosseini, the spokesperson for the Iranian Union of Oil Exporters, specified that payment of this tax could be made in cryptocurrency, a way to circumvent international financial sanctions.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire announced between Washington and Tehran remains precarious. Talks are set to begin on April 10 in Islamabad, but Tehran has deemed them « unreasonable » following Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Iran demands that the truce also cover Lebanon, which Israel refuses. This instability weighs on investor sentiment and fuels the prevailing nervousness, clearly reflected in the evolution of the VIX. The SBF 120 is moving in the same direction, down 0.68% at 6,214.79 points.

Energy and Industry Hold Firm: ENGIE, Air Liquide, and TotalEnergies Lead the Way

In this tense context, a few defensive and energy stocks are standing out. ENGIE shows the biggest increase on the CAC 40 this morning, rising by 1.21% to 29.25 euros. The energy company benefits from specific news: the group announced it has surpassed the milestone of one gigawatt of battery storage in Europe, thanks to the acquisition of two projects in Spain and the beginning of construction of its first such system in France.

Air Liquide is up by 1.06% to 185.38 euros, while TotalEnergies gains 0.85% to 77.46 euros, as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz bring the oil sector back into focus. Safran (+0.51% to 314.70 euros) rounds out the main gainers. Stock exchange operator Euronext advances by 0.70% to 143.10 euros, after publishing its trading volumes for March 2026 and proposing a dividend of 3.18 euros per share for the 2025 fiscal year.

Luxury and Tech Plunge: LVMH Drops Over 3%, Capgemini and Dassault Systèmes Fall

Conversely, luxury and technology heavyweights are experiencing the largest declines of the morning. LVMH is significantly down by 3.41% to 481.85 euros, heavily affecting the index due to its capitalization. Kering drops 2.11% to 271.40 euros, while EssilorLuxottica slips 2.19% to 196.30 euros. The luxury sector, sensitive to global consumption outlooks and geopolitical uncertainties, is seeing most of the sell-offs this morning.

In the technology sector, the impact is also severe. Dassault Systèmes falls 3.03% to 17.11 euros, and Capgemini loses 2.86% to 100.25 euros. These declines reflect the general market caution this morning, in an environment dominated by geopolitical uncertainty where cyclical and growth stocks are the first to be abandoned.

With 27 declines to only 13 increases, the profile of the Parisian stock exchange clearly indicates a defensive market mid-morning, as it awaits a potential resolution of tensions in the Middle East.