CAC 40 Under Pressure in Early Afternoon: Paris Falls Following Wall Street and Tokyo

A Session Weighed Down by U.S. Inflation and Asian Retreat

The atmosphere is tense in European markets. The DAX drops by 1.22%, the FTSE 100 falls by 0.84%, and the Stoxx 600 declines by 0.99%. The Paris session follows the same defensive trend, caught between digesting the U.S. inflation figures released the previous day and the heavy Asian market close. Indeed, the Nikkei 225 plummeted by 4.15% in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng dropped by 1.76% in Hong Kong.
On the macroeconomic front, the U.S. PCE price index for May increased by 0.4% month-over-month and 4.1% year-over-year, with the core measure rising by 3.4% over twelve months, significantly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. At the same time, the third estimate of U.S. GDP for the first quarter of 2026 was revised to 2.1% on an annualized basis, up from 1.6% previously. This strengthens the idea of a prolonged restrictive monetary policy across the Atlantic, which mechanically weighs on European valuations midway through the session.

In the background, the European Union has extended its economic sanctions against Russia by one year, until July 31, 2027, maintaining a framework of strong constraints on energy and trade flows between the EU and Moscow. A 21st sanctions package is being prepared. Conversely, Brent crude continues to fall after dropping more than 4% the previous day to around $73.74 per barrel, as the removal of the risk premium related to the Iran-Israel conflict continues to influence sector-specific trades.

Defensive Stocks Lead: Danone and Carrefour Hold Steady, Orange Manages Its Debt

In this turbulent context, defensive stocks are standing out. Danone leads the CAC 40 rankings with a 3.32% increase to €72.30, ahead of Carrefour (+1.26% to €16.46). Consumer staples are evidently capturing the day's defensive trades while indexes decline and operators look for sectoral safe havens.
Engie follows closely (+0.85%), as does Orange (+0.79% to €17.14). The telecommunications operator has completed the buyback of €356.6 million in hybrid bonds, reducing its perpetual hybrid debt by more than €350 million following an operation launched on June 15.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is up 0.34% to €103, after having finalized the reorganization of its legal structure on Thursday. URW SE becomes the sole entity listed on Euronext Paris following the cross-listing of shares, approved in the general meetings of May and June.

Tech, Automotive, and Aerospace Leading the Decline

The bottom of the chart is dominated by cyclical stocks and technology. STMicroelectronics drops by 2.97% to 63.13 euros, aligning with the heaviness in semiconductors following a tough Asian session. The Franco-Italian company had nevertheless launched the ST54M on Wednesday, a secured chip with a hardware accelerator for post-quantum cryptography aimed at smartphones.
Accor declines by 2.56% to 50.30 euros amid caution around tourism and travel-related stocks. Airbus falls by 2.28% to 190.64 euros, even though the aircraft maker signed a memorandum of understanding with Kawasaki Heavy Industries on Friday to adapt an anti-submarine variant of the Eurodrone to meet Japanese maritime defense needs.

The automotive sector is not spared from the trend: Stellantis loses 2.15% to 5.01 euros, while ArcelorMittal, the barometer of the European cyclical industry, falls by 2.06% to 53.16 euros. The decline broadly impacts the market, as evidenced by a Paris session dominated by defensive arbitrage in favor of food, telecoms, and utilities.