Around 10:30 a.m., the CAC 40 was up about 0.4% at 8,355 points. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 was flat, London's FTSE fell 0.3%, and Frankfurt's DAX remained more or less unchanged.

On Wall Street the previous day, the S&P 500 gained 0.47% to 6,964.8 points, the Dow Jones ended almost flat with a slight uptick of 0.04% to 50,135.8 points, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.77% to close at 25,268.1 points.

Many strategists highlight an environment that remains favorable for equities. "Despite persistent volatility and ongoing geopolitical noise, the macro backdrop remains very solid," Danske Bank teams remind.

"The latest figures show the first signs—still tentative but encouraging—of an industrial rebound, while growth momentum, inflation, confidence indicators, and monetary policy are all moving in the right direction," they add.


Unemployment Rate in France Hits Highest Level Since Q3 2021

On the statistics front, the number of unemployed in France (excluding Mayotte) as defined by the ILO rose by 56,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, reaching 2.5 million people, according to INSEE.

The ILO unemployment rate stood at 7.9% of the active population, 0.2 points higher than in the third quarter of 2025 and at its highest level since the third quarter of 2021, though still well below its mid-2015 peak.

During the session, traders are still awaiting several U.S. data releases this afternoon, including import prices and December retail sales, followed by November business inventories.


Kering Soars After Annual Results

In Paris, Kering led the CAC 40, surging by nearly 11% following the luxury group's (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta) annual results announcement.

While its results showed a sharp decline over the past year, the fourth quarter proved more encouraging, and Kering stated it was "approaching 2026 with a clear objective: to return to growth and improve margins, starting this year."

Among other major European releases of the day, traders cheered Philips (+7%) in Amsterdam, reacted positively to AstraZeneca (+1%) and Barclays (+1%) in London, but heavily penalized TUI (-6%) in Frankfurt.