French stocks saw an uptick on Friday, buoyed by robust U.S. GDP growth and indicators of moderating inflation, setting the stage for a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut in the near future.
Earlier this week, a former Federal Reserve hawk cautioned that delaying a rate cut until September "unnecessarily increases the risk" of a recession.
The benchmark CAC 40 index climbed 67 points, or 0.9%, to close at 7,494, rebounding after a 1.2% decline on Thursday.
In corporate developments, Capgemini shares plummeted 11%. The IT consulting firm revised its annual revenue forecast to a decrease of between 0.5% and 1.5%, in contrast to the earlier projection of a 0-3% increase.
Conversely, Hermes International surged nearly 5%, as the celebrated Birkin-bag manufacturer reported a 13% increase in second-quarter sales, bucking the trend of a luxury market downturn.
EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear giant, saw its shares leap by 8% following a strong financial performance in the first half of 2024.
Meanwhile, Bouygues, the construction and telecom conglomerate, slipped 1% despite posting better-than-expected core profits for the first half of the year.
