Demand for French services falls at fastest pace in close to two-and-a-half years. The headline S&P Global France Services PMI fell from 48.8 in March to 46.5, its lowest reading since February 2025. France’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.8 in April 2026 from 50.0 in March, confirming initial estimates and marking its strongest growth since May 2022. The S&P Global France Composite PMI d...
Demand for French services falls at fastest pace in close to two-and-a-half years. The headline S&P Global France Services PMI fell from 48.8 in March to 46.5, its lowest reading since February 2025. France’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.8 in April 2026 from 50.0 in March, confirming initial estimates and marking its strongest growth since May 2022. The S&P Global France Composite PMI decreased again in April to 47.6, from 48.8 in March, signalling the quickest decline in private sector business activity in just over a year. Lower output came amid the quickest fall in new orders since April 2025. "Services and manufacturing pulled the French economy in different directions in April. We should probably discount the factory expansion, though, which is likely to be fleeting due to front-loaded ordering ahead of anticipated price increases. Services, on the other hand, has seen a significant hit to demand from increased uncertainty, with activity in this part of the economy weakening as a result." said Joe Hayes, principal economist at S&P Global MarketIntelligence More on iShares MSCI France ETF U.S. Tariffs: A New Trade War? Europe markets dip on renewed geopolitical concerns ECB surveys see inflation easing back to 2% target by 2027 Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on iShares MSCI France ETF Dividend scorecard for iShares MSCI France ETF
Muhammad Arie/iStock via Getty Images The hold rating in my previous coverage was timely and strategic, if you ask me. A week after its publication, a correction down to $54 took place and reduced its value by about 15%. Now, its momentum has already returned despite lower profits. But I can't blame the market considering its resilient sales and the fact that it beat the consensus estimates. Still...
Muhammad Arie/iStock via Getty Images The hold rating in my previous coverage was timely and strategic, if you ask me. A week after its publication, a correction down to $54 took place and reduced its value by about 15%. Now, its momentum has already returned despite lower profits. But I can't blame the market considering its resilient sales and the fact that it beat the consensus estimates. Still, valuation is still a bit too high to buy, coupled with macroeconomic risks. There are potential risk mitigants and growth prospects, but caution is essential right now. Technicals have improved with bullish signals, but overbuying may prompt profit-taking. CARR Q1 2026: A Decent Start, But Challenges Are Evident The HVAC industry has seen multiple growth prospects in recent years amid the AI revolution and data center capacity expansion. Yet, some businesses still grapple with growth acceleration as weaker segments continue to impact their performance. On top of that, mounting cost pressures amid stubborn inflation have already materialized. Carrier Global Corporation ( CARR ) has remained stable, but profitability has remained a challenge. This was evident in its most recent performance. In Q1 2026, its net sales amounted to $5.3B , up by 2.4% YoY from $5.2B. This decent growth was driven by its strong performance in its commercial and light commercial segments across regions, especially in Europe. Its climate solutions in the transportation segment also strengthened amid the continued global expansion in containers. However, you can notice that YoY sales growth dropped from my previous coverage at 6.0%. This was mainly due to its exposure to the residential segment. This should not be surprising considering the weaker home sales. After all, lower home sales meant lower HVAC demand. In January, home sales dropped by 11.3% YoY. Another 1.4% YoY decrease was recorded in February. Also, individuals or households are more vulnerable to inflation than businesses. As inflation...