Investors are navigating between corporate releases and monitoring the conflict in the Middle East. Donald Trump suggested that the war with Iran was "almost over," mentioning a possible resumption of talks in the coming days in Pakistan. "I think it's almost over," he stated on Fox News, adding that Iranian authorities "really want to make a deal." Negotiations could thus resume in Islamabad under Pakistani mediation, following the failure of recent initial talks.

In this context, oil prices continue their retreat, with Brent shedding 0.29% to 94.88 USD and WTI dropping 0.65% to 90.80 USD.

On the ground, Israeli strikes targeted southern Beirut on Wednesday, while Hezbollah launched about thirty rockets toward northern Israel. These exchanges come a day after Lebanon and Israel announced the opening of direct negotiations aimed at a lasting peace. The ambassadors of both countries in Washington met yesterday alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marking the first direct discussions since 1991. However, the Jewish state has rejected any French participation in the negotiations.

Stellantis in the spotlight

The Paris benchmark index is being penalized by a sharp decline in luxury stocks. Hermès (-11%) reported quarterly sales below expectations, affected by Middle East tensions which weighed on demand and tourism. Its competitor Kering (-9%), which reported yesterday evening, is also trending lower. LVMH, for its part, is down 1%.

Conversely, Stellantis (+3.20%) leads the CAC 40 after reporting a 12% increase in global deliveries for the first quarter, reaching approximately 1.4 million vehicles.

Elsewhere in Europe, ASML (+1.15%) raised its revenue forecasts for 2026, supported by demand for equipment related to artificial intelligence.

On the macroeconomic front, consumer prices in France rose by 1.7% year-on-year in March 2026, following 0.9% in February, according to Insee, which confirmed its provisional estimate. However, the institute revised its monthly growth estimate upward by 0.1 points to 1%.

Investors are now awaiting the release of industrial production data for the Eurozone at 11:00 AM.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro is down 0.07% at 1.1790 USD.