Luxury sector drops, CAC 40 falls below 8,030 points in early afternoon

A Paris Session Contrasting with Europe

The Paris market has been moving in the red since the opening, with a much more negative dynamic than its European neighbors. The discrepancy is evident: out of the 40 stocks in the index, 24 decline, 13 advance, and 3 remain stable. The CAC 40 thus shows a notable underperformance compared to the German DAX (-0.26%) or the British FTSE 100 (+0.03%). This contrast highlights the specific weight of the luxury sector in the Parisian weighting, which concentrates the bulk of the day's losses.

In the background, oil continues to weigh on investor sentiment. Brent crude has crossed the $103 threshold, significantly up after dropping to less than $99 on Friday, as the diplomatic impasse between Iran and the Trump administration drags on. Tehran demands the lifting of the blockade on its ports and the release of frozen assets, requests rejected by the White House. The Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point concerning the security of hydrocarbon supply.

Other signals are also beginning to concern investors, including the prospect of imported inflation from China, whose producer prices saw their sharpest increase since 2022 in April, according to statistics published this morning by the BES.

Defensive and Banking Stocks Stand Out

In this tense climate, semiconductors and finance are leading the rankings. STMicroelectronics tops the CAC 40 with a gain of 2.05% to 50.04 euros, following the Nasdaq's rebound on Friday. The insurance sector follows with AXA, rising by 1.58% to 39.33 euros.

Telecom and retail complete this defensive group: Orange advances by 1.46% to 18.09 euros, while Carrefour gains 0.93% to 17.33 euros. In the banking sector, BNP Paribas increases by 0.94% to 92.41 euros, supported by a slight target price increase from Morgan Stanley, which raises its target from 104 to 105 euros while maintaining a neutral rating.

Luxury Penalized, Automotive and Aerospace Fall

The luxury sector is bearing the brunt of the impact, driven by concerns originating from China. LVMH drops by 4.06% to 453.5 euros, marking the worst performance in the CAC 40. Kering is also affected, declining by 2.91% to 238.75 euros, as is Hermès International, which falls by 2.41% to 1,621 euros. These three key companies in the sector largely explain the performance gap between Paris and other European markets.

The aerospace and automotive sectors round out the largest declines. Airbus falls by 2.42% to 175.52 euros, while Renault loses 2.38% to 27.92 euros, two sectors particularly sensitive to geopolitical tensions and the spike in oil prices. The session unfolds under the sign of a marked sector rotation, unfavorable to cyclical stocks and the most globalized brands exposed to discretionary consumption.