(BFM Bourse) – The Paris Stock Exchange ends the week in the green, supported by a reassuring inflation indicator and Totalenergies at stock market highs. The CAC 40 rose by 0.82% at the end of a busy week of company publications.
The Paris Stock Exchange regained color this Friday, after having had two tough sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. The CAC 40 increased by 0.89% to end the week in contact with 8,100 points at 8,088.24 points.
The flagship Parisian index thus gained 0.82% at the end of a week marked by an avalanche of results, more or less well appreciated by operators.
The Parisian market welcomed, not without great relief, the publication of the PCE index for March, which is the preferred gauge of the American Federal Reserve (the Fed) to measure inflation.
On a monthly basis, this inflation indicator increased by 0.3% in March, in line with market expectations. And the “core” PCE index – which measures the rise in prices excluding food and energy – also stood at 0.3%, still monthly. On an annual basis, the price increase reached 2.7%, more than the 2.6% anticipated by economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal and the 2.5% for the month of February.
Meanwhile, American household spending, the engine of growth across the Atlantic, increased more than expected by 0.5% in March, while income increased by a further 0.8% over one month.
The bond market has relaxed a little after these latest inflation figures published across the Atlantic. The interest rate on the 10-year American debt fell slightly to 4.665% compared to 4.708% the day before.
Investors will also have an eye on the verdict of several rating agencies regarding France’s debt rating, with decisions from Moody’s and Fitch expected in the evening.
“A downgrade is unlikely, but it is possible that either of these agencies could lower the rating outlook from stable to negative. This would be a bad signal for the government although the impact on markets is expected to be very limited”, estimates Xavier Chapard from LBPAM.
Saint-Gobain bets on the future, Airbus grounded
The market is also digesting a new burst of results. With good news, on the side of Saint-Gobain which takes the lead in the CAC 40 this Friday evening (+6.9%) after delivering satisfactory revenues and indicating that several markets are close to an inflection point.
Totalenergies gained 2.1%, to a new historic high closing at 69.48 euros, after flirting with 70 euros during the session. The group published results very slightly above expectations in the first quarter. Above all, its CEO Patrick Pouyanné admitted to Bloomberg that the company was considering transferring its main listing to New York rather than Paris, to get closer to its shareholder base and distance itself from a cautious Europe. regarding its strategy in renewable energies.
And less good, on the Airbus side, which limited its decline to 0.9% after clearly missing expectations for its first quarter, even if its results were penalized by a series of exceptional elements.
Excluding the flagship index, Nexity jumped 7.2% after reporting quarterly activity in line with expectations and giving details of its transformation plan intended to revive itself.
On other markets, the euro fell by 0.4% against the dollar to 1.0687 dollars. Oil is moving forward a little. The North Sea Brent contract gained 0.4% to $89.38 per barrel, while that of WTI listed in New York also gained 0.4% to $83.89 per barrel.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2024 BFM Bourse