(BFM Bourse) – Picked cold. On the rise until 2:30 p.m., the Paris Stock Exchange suddenly turned down after the publication of inflation figures that came out higher than expected. The CAC 40 closed down 1.4%, erasing part of the 4% garnered over the last five sessions.
Disappointed hopes. The Paris Stock Exchange will not be able to complete the six-month pass, the inflation figures in the United States have shattered hopes of a new closing in positive territory. However, the Parisian place was carried by the hopes of a sharp slowdown in the rise in prices in the United States in August. A scenario that would have been likely to soften the monetary tightening that the US Federal Reserve is in the process of operating.
Up 0.5% at lunchtime, the CAC 40 erased its gains and then fell into the red after the disappointment caused by higher-than-expected inflation for the past month. At 6245.69 points, the CAC 40 closed on a drop of 1.39% on Wednesday evening and put an end to five consecutive sessions of increase.
According to the US Bureau of Statistics and Labor, the consumer price index, the best known barometer of inflation, rose 8.3% year on year in August. An increase certainly lower than that of July (+8.5% over one year) but clearly above the expectations of economists who were counting on a figure of 8%, according to a consensus compiled by Dow Jones Newswires. As for underlying inflation, which does not take into account the volatile elements of gasoline and food, it also came out above expectations, at 6.3% over one year. where expectations were housed at 6.1%. The content of the day’s figures suggests a continuation of the cycle of rate hikes initiated by the Fed to stem inflation that is still just as persistent.
On the currency side, the reactions were more than marked with the euro which fell by 1% against the greenback to return to levels close to parity at 1.0004 dollar, while it was moving up before the American inflation. The day’s statistics also shook the bond market, particularly in the US, with a yield on 10-year government bonds which stood at 3.43%, against 3.35% the day before. The US 2-year, which is more sensitive to forecasts of Fed action on its rates, soared to 3.74% to record its highest level since November 2007.
The pump stroke of the technos
Up more than 1% at lunchtime, oil contracts also turned lower as fears of a recession now dictate the trend in the black gold market. The North Sea Brent contract for November delivery lost 1.5% to 92.85 dollars while the WTI for October delivery fell 1.2% to 87.06 dollars.
Rate-sensitive technology stocks struggled with Atos, which lost 7.3%, followed by Dassault Systèmes (-4.3%) and STMicroelectonics (-3.3%).
Schneider Electric lost 2.3% as Sky News reported that the French industrialist could shell out around 4 billion euros to buy back the roughly 40% stake in Aveva that it does not yet hold.
As for mid and small caps, Séché Environnement ended up 3.10% on the back of good half-year results coupled with an increase in its annual targets.
The engineering consultancy specialist Geci International (+9%) has won a big contract in Brazil valued at between 1.4 million and 2 million euros over two years.
TFF Group gained 1.7% after posting very strong growth in the first three months of its staggered 2022-2023 financial year.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2022 BFM Bourse