French stocks were little changed in cautious trade on Tuesday as investors awaited the release of German ZEW survey results and fourth quarter Eurozone GDP data for direction.
Meanwhile, the French jobless rate declined in the fourth quarter as the number of people activity searching for job decreased amid fresh restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic, data published by the statistical office Insee revealed.
The ILO jobless rate fell to 8 percent in the fourth quarter from 9.1 percent in the third quarter. The rate was forecast to drop marginally to 9 percent.
Underlying sentiment was underpinned by falling coronavirus infection rates, successful rollouts of Covid-19 vaccines in many countries and the possible easing of lockdown restrictions in England.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that his government will be “very prudent” in relaxing restrictions as it wants to ensure irreversible progress.
The PM plans to unveil his roadmap for gradually easing restrictions on February 22.
Over the weekend, the country reached a significant milestone of offering first doses of Covid-19 vaccinations to 15 million people by mid-February.
The benchmark CAC 40 was marginally higher at 5,789 after rallying 1.5 percent the previous day.
Tire maker Michelin Cie Des Estb rose about 1 percent. The company expects to deliver segment Operating income in excess of 2.5 billion euros at constant exchange rates and structural free cash flow of around 1 billion euros for fiscal 2021.
CAC 40 Little Changed In Cautious Trade
2021-02-16 09:13:44
