CAC 40 Falls at Close: Luxury and Automotive Weigh Down Market, TotalEnergies Holds Firm

A Session Marked by Caution

The decline remained moderate, but the atmosphere was clearly defensive. Of the 40 index stocks, 28 ended down while only 12 were up: this distribution illustrates a two-speed market, without a clear trend.
The movement in Paris takes place within a European environment trending downward. At the day's close, the SBF 120 dropped by 0.37%, and in other European markets, Germany's DAX fell by 1.10% at 5:30 PM, while the STOXX 600 shed 0.56%.
Across the Atlantic, the trend remained negative during the session: at the time of the Paris close, the S&P 500 was down 0.65%, the Dow Jones decreased by 0.78%, and the Nasdaq 100 declined by 1.18%.

TotalEnergies and Banks Provide Support

Despite the overall decline, a few heavyweights managed to stand out. TotalEnergies posted the best performance in the index with a gain of 2.75% to 77.61 euros as Brent prices resumed their upward trend. Additionally, the company announced a reshuffle of its Executive Committee: Emmanuelle Guégan has taken over as head of Marketing & Services, succeeding Bernard Pinatel, who is retiring.
Air Liquide advanced 2.15% to 173.18 euros, while Carrefour gained 2.07% to reach 16 euros. The financial sector also provided some support: AXA rose by 1.42% to 43.71 euros, buoyed by a price target increase from BNP Paribas Exane, raising it from 53 to 56 euros, with the analyst maintaining a positive outlook. Société Générale closed with an increase of 0.88%.

Luxury and Automotive Lead in Declines

The day's decline was concentrated in a few sensitive sectors. Pernod Ricard was at the bottom, with a drop of 3.04% to 62.54 euros. The luxury sector also weighed in: Kering lost 2.70% to 247.20 euros, and Hermès International fell 2.44% to 1,542.50 euros.
The automotive sector had a challenging session. Stellantis slid 2.60% to 4.64 euros, following disappointing commercial figures: according to published data, Renault and Stellantis underperformed in a French market that rose by 3.6% in August. Additionally, the manufacturer announced the appointment of Arnaud Belloni as head of Fiat, Abarth, and Lancia.
In the technology sector, Dassault Systèmes dropped 2.58% to 22.25 euros on a day when Deutsche Bank raised its price target from 20 to 22 euros while maintaining a neutral rating.