Better-than-expected economic data cheered the French market in early afternoon Tuesday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on the U.S. economy later in the day.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.57 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.33 percent.
The CAC 40 index opened at 3,864, nearly flat with the previous close, and has been in positive territory for most of the session. The index is currently adding 0.60 percent.
Tire firm Michelin is adding 2.5 percent. Machinery & equipment maker Alstom is rising 2.2 percent. Schneider Electric is gaining 1.3 percent.
Lenders Credit Agricole, Societe Generale and Natixis are moderately higher, while BNP Paribas is up 0.2 percent. Credit Agricole reportedly received a broker upgrade.
Air Liquide is up 0.3 percent. JPMorgan reduced its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Overweight" and cut the price target to 112 euros from 104.80 euros.
Goldman Sachs reduced its price target on media firm Vivendi to 22.60 euros from 23.30 euros. The stock is rising 0.3 percent.
Contact lens maker Essilor International, dairy giant Danone and department stores operator PPR are falling moderately.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is adding 0.61 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is rising 0.31 percent, while Switzerland's SMI is losing 0.11 percent.
In economic news, eurozone retail sales grew more than expected in April, data from Eurostat showed. Retail sales were up 0.9 percent month-on-month, offsetting 0.9 percent drop in March. Economists had expected a monthly growth of 0.3 percent.
German factory orders increased 2.8 percent month-on-month in April, the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology said. Economists had expected only 2 percent growth for April, following a 2.7 percent fall in March.
Switzerland's consumer price inflation increased slightly in May, the Federal Statistical Office said. Annual inflation rose to 0.4 percent in May from 0.3 percent in April. Economists had expected it to remain unchanged at 0.3 percent.
Across Asia/Pacific, Australia's All Ordinaries lost 0.16 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.29 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.64 percent and 0.67 percent, respectively.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the Nasdaq dropped 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 slid 1.1 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for July delivery is falling $0.03 to $98.98 per barrel and August gold is rising $3.4 to $1550.6 a troy ounce.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.