FX.co ★ CAC 40 Inches Higher After Trade Data

French stocks experienced a small increase on Tuesday following the revelation that France's trade deficit shrank in March, according to data from the country's customs offices.

The trade deficit fell to 5.47 billion euros in March from February's 5.61 billion euros, driven by a more rapid increase in exports when compared to imports. This contrasts with the same period the previous year when the deficit was 8.1 billion euros.

Exports experienced a monthly rise of 2.9 percent, as imports grew by a slightly lesser 2.4 percent. However, on an annual basis, there was a decline in both exports and imports by 1.3 percent and 7.0 percent respectively in March.

As for the stock market, the benchmark CAC 40 index increased by 21 points or 0.3 percent, reaching 8,017, following a 0.5 percent increase the day prior.

On the corporate front, shares for biotech company Valneva fell 2.5 percent, despite reporting a turnaround to net income for the first quarter. This was supported by a net gain of 90.8 million euros resulting from the sale of their priority review voucher.

Meanwhile, Bouygues, a conglomerate specialising in construction, media, and telecommunications, saw a drop of 3.7 percent after its losses for the first quarter were reported to have amplified.

Finally, TotalEnergies observed a marginal increase following its agreement with Sinopec to join forces in the area of low-carbon energies.