After a delicate start to the week, the Paris Stock Exchange is moving towards a hesitant opening, even slightly down, for lack of direction from Wall Street, closed Monday for Labor Day. The contracts future on US indices are on the rise a few hours before the publication of the ISM services index last month in the United States.
The underlying trend remains weakened by fears of recession due to soaring gas prices after the shutdown sine die of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which also caused the euro to fall below the 0.99 dollar threshold for the first time in 20 years. In Germany, particularly exposed to soaring energy prices, industrial orders fell by 1.1% in July, thus posting their sixth consecutive drop.
Oil demand doubts despite OPEC+
On the oil front, the barrel of Brent from the North Sea is stabilizing just above 95 dollars, the increase caused by the decision of OPEC+ to cut its production by 100,000 barrels per day being counterbalanced by the risk of a drop in demand against the backdrop of confinements in China, where several large cities remain in the grip of drastic health restrictions.
Chinese monetary officials have also signaled their intention to revive a faltering economy, indicating that the time has come to strengthen support measures in the face of increasing signs of a slowdown. Beijing lowered the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio imposed on banks in order to support the yuan, thus reflecting the authorities’ desire to stem the fall of the Chinese currency.
Casino wants to maximize its Brazilian assets
For its part, the Bank of Australia raised its main rate by 50 basis points to 2.35%, making its fourth consecutive tightening, adding that others should follow. The European Central Bank will make its decision on Thursday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve on September 21.
Saffron entered into negotiations with Thales to acquire its aeronautical electrical systems business, the two groups announced in a joint press release on Monday. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
Casino announced that its Brazilian subsidiary Grupo Pao de Açucar (GPA) plans to sell its shareholders around 83% of Grupo Exito, its Colombian division, and retain a stake of around 13% which could be sold later.