CAC 40 Gains As France Escapes Recession

French stocks rose modestly on Tuesday as data showed the country narrowly escaped a recession in the latter half of last year.

The French economy failed to expand in the last two quarters of 2023 as the improvement in foreign trade was offset by the falling investment and household spending.

Gross domestic product posted nil growth in the fourth quarter, the same rate as seen in the third quarter, flash data from the statistical office INSEE showed.

GDP had expanded 0.7 percent in the second quarter and was flat in the first quarter. Consequently, the economic growth for the whole year softened to 0.9 percent from 2.5 percent in 2022.

Another report from the INSEE showed that household consumption growth softened in December reflecting a decrease in food consumption.

The monthly increase in household spending halved to 0.3 percent from 0.6 percent in November.

The benchmark CAC 40 was up 27 points, or 0.4 percent, at 7,668 after finishing marginally higher on Monday.

In corporate news, car maker Renault rose 1.3 percent after scrapping plans to publicly list its new electric vehicle and software business.

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