CAC 40 Up Nearly 0.5% On Iran Peace Hopes

The CAC 40 rose about 0.4% to 8,296.25 as investors reacted positively to hopes of U.S.–Iran talks potentially easing Middle East tensions. Large-cap French stocks led gains—Dassault Systemes (+3.5%), Hermès (+3.4%) and EssilorLuxottica (+3.1%)—while several mid- and large-cap names advanced 1–2%. Telecom Orange slid ~3.4% amid consolidation talk around Altice France and related bidders; Bouygues fell 1.8%. Energy and utility names (TotalEnergies, Engie) and select industrials drifted lower by up to ~0.9–1.6%. Separately, Eurostat showed Eurozone exports down 6.7% YoY in February and a trade surplus of EUR 11.5bn, an improvement from January’s EUR 1bn deficit.