(fxcue news) - French stocks are gaining some ground in positive territory on Tuesday, as the market recovers from a 17-week low it touched in the previous session. Some optimism about U.S. President Donald Trump softening his tariff stance a bit is contributing to the improved sentiment in the market. Trump has reaffirmed Washington's new tariff policy but signaled his willingness to engage in dialogue with countries seeking more favorable trade terms. "There could be permanent tariffs and there could also be negotiations... we're going to get fair deals and good deals with every country — and if we don't, we're going to have nothing to do with them," Trump said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, uncertainty on the tariff front lingers as Trump has rejected the European Commission's offer proposing removal of tariffs on industrial goods as part of trade talks. The benchmark CAC 40, which climbed nearly 140 points to 7,063.67 earlier in the session, was up 54.13 points or 0.78% at 6,981.25 a few minutes ago. Thales is gaining nearly 5%. Safran is up 3.6% and Societe Generale is rising 3%. Schneider Electric, Capgemini, Accor, Legrand, Edenred and AXA are up 2 to 2.7%. Dassault Systemes, Saint Gobain, Airbus, Eurofins Scientific, Hermes International, Pernod Ricard, Teleperformance, Bouygues, Essilor and Michelin are up 1 to 1.8%. Stellantis, Veolia Environment, Orange and Renault are down 1 to 1.8%. Kering and LVMH are lower by 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. On the economic front, data from the customs office showed France's trade deficit widened to a five-month high in February on rising imports. The trade shortfall rose unexpectedly to EUR 7.9 billion in February from EUR 6.5 billion in January. Economists had forecast the deficit to narrow to EUR 5.4 billion. In February 2024, the trade deficit totaled EUR 5.7 billion. Exports remained flat in February, while imports grew 2.4% from the previous month. On a yearly basis, exports were up 1% and imports moved up 0.6%.