(BFM Bourse) – The Paris Stock Exchange posted a slight increase on Thursday the day after its rebound. The markets are catching their breath after a euphoric end to November. The reassuring statements of the president of the American central bank, Jerome Powell, had their small effect before being integrated into the software of the markets.
The Paris Stock Exchange tempers after its rebound the day before. On Wednesday evening, the CAC 40 closed up more than 1%, bringing its gains for the month of November to 7.5%. The flagship index of the Parisian market was then driven by the luxury sector, itself supported by the prospect of an easing of the zero-Covid policy in China.
The CAC 40 struggled to print a clear upward trend on Thursday, ultimately grabbing 0.23% to 6,753.97 points.
Eagerly awaited by the markets because considered the Fed’s preferred indicator for gauging inflation, the PCE index notes a slowdown in the rise in consumer prices in the United States in October. Inflation slowed to 5% year on year from 5.2% in September, according to this index.
For its part, the general activity of the American manufacturing industry contracted in November to 49.2, a first since May 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, on Friday, will come the turn of the monthly US employment report, which is also closely watched by operators. The unemployment rate is expected to be stable at 3.7%, with job creation falling to 200,000 in November from 261,000 in October.
Less pronounced rate hikes
Above all, the statistics of the day corroborate the words of Jerome Powell, the president of the American Federal Reserve. The latter sent clear signals of less pronounced rate hikes for the next meetings of the American institution.
In a speech on Wednesday evening, the central banker said the time to slow interest rate hikes “could come as early as the December meeting.”
“Although he reiterated that the Fed should leave rates at a ‘restrictive level’ for some time to come, his speech was punctuated by many softer statements than before with a display of confidence in the Fed’s ability to achieve a soft landing for the US economy,” notes Alexandre Baradez, head of France market analysis at IG Markets.
“Powell confirmed last night that the Fed is likely to raise U.S. interest rates more slowly starting this month, meaning the era of aggressive interest rate hikes is over. “, notes for his part Naeem Aslam.
China, which the market has been watching for several sessions now, has given signs of a relaxation of its zero-Covid policy. Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chunlan said the country’s approach to the virus was facing “new circumstances” thanks to the less dangerous nature of the Omicron variant and advances in vaccination.
Cutting-edge technology
On the stock side, the lull in bond yields caused by Jerome Powell’s speech is benefiting growth stocks, particularly in tech. Dassault Systèmes ended up 4.5% while Atos took 3.4%. The same is true for stretched valuations such as that of Sartorius Stedim Biotech (+4.50%).
Solutions 30, for its part jumped 8.4%. The company has indicated that it wants to buy Scopelec, a fiber optic specialist currently in receivership.
After jumping 10% in session, Pierre & Vacances limits its gains to 3.6%. The market welcomed the return to profits of the leisure group, which generated net income of 325 million euros for its entire 2021-2022 financial year ended at the end of September, against a loss of 341 million euros a year earlier. early.
Technicolor Creative Studios lost more than 11% at the close, the group published deteriorated quarterly results and does not rule out being short of cash from the second quarter of 2023.
On other markets, the euro is benefiting from the plunge in the dollar after the US inflation figures. The single currency recovered 1% to 1.0508 dollars, the highest since June. Oil prices accelerated their gains. Brent crude from the North Sea for delivery in February advanced 1.1% to 87.94 dollars a barrel while that of February on the WTI quoted in New York rose 1.8% to 82.06 dollars a barrel.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2022 BFM Bourse