CAC 40 Little Changed After Yellen’s Comments

French stocks were little changed on Monday, as investors digested remarks from U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that President Joe Biden’s spending plan would be beneficial to the economy, even if they trigger higher inflation and a rate hike move by the U.S Federal Reserve.

The President’s $4 trillion spending plan is positive for the economy, although it may spur inflation that persists into 2022, Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg News.

Yellen added that a “slightly higher” interest rate environment would be an advantage. Investors await key U.S. inflation data due later this week for more indications about the Fed’s policy outlook.

The benchmark CAC 40 was down 2 points at 6,513 after closing up 0.1 percent on Friday.

Vouchers and cards provider Edenred rallied 2.7 percent after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to “buy”.

Carrefour shares rose half a percent. The French retail company and Britain’s Tesco have decided not to extend their purchasing alliance beyond the three-year operational framework agreed in 2018.

Automaker Renault and banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale were seeing modest gains ahead of the ECB meeting on Thursday when policymakers are expected to stick to their dovish policy stance.