The CAC 40 slipped 0.2% to 8,330 on Tuesday, retreating from record levels as investors positioned themselves ahead of a closely watched US inflation report expected to show an acceleration in consumer prices in December. Losses in the construction and infrastructure sectors outweighed gains in banking stocks. Vinci led the declines, falling 3.2%, followed by Saint-Gobain (-2.4%) and Bouygues (-1.4%), the latter after announcing the restructuring of its construction activities into a new “Construction Division” generating more than €27 billion in turnover. On the upside, Airbus rose 0.6% after reporting the delivery of 793 commercial aircraft to 91 customers and securing 1,000 new gross orders in 2025. Banking shares also provided support: Crédit Agricole gained 0.7% after receiving ECB approval to raise its stake in Banco BPM above 20% and convert a 0.3% derivative position into physical shares. Société Générale (+1.3%) and BNP Paribas (+0.7%) also advanced.
