(BFM Bourse) – The meeting of the “three witches” with the financial markets led to a bumpy session for the CAC 40. Initially supported by the Chinese central bank’s gesture in favor of credit, the Parisian index erased the essential to its initial gains. The luxury sector played spoilsport, under pressure after the disappointment of the Swiss giant Richemont.
In the end, the rebound was cut short, the CAC 40 losing ground on a weekly scale and failing to continue its rebound of last week… After gaining 1.67% at the best of the session, the Paris Stock Exchange ended on a gain limited to 0.20% at 6285.24 points. On a weekly basis, the CAC 40 therefore fell by more than 1.3%, bringing the decline to 11.55% since the start of the year. However, the planets were aligned to allow the index to get on the rise train, after the announcement of the support that the Chinese central bank had decided to grant, by operating on one of its key rates the biggest drop since 2019.
The policy of the various Chinese decision-makers has largely disconcerted, not to say disappointed, investors for the past few quarters, between the blows of the rule on the fingers of local new technology players and at present the pursuit of an elusive zero-Covid objective. at the cost of severe confinements heavily hampering economic activity, as shown by the statistics of last March and April. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank of the world’s second largest economy, now seems determined to be more active in supporting growth.
Unexpectedly, it announced to reduce one of its main key rates, serving as a reference for commercial banks for mortgages from 4.6% to 4.45%. A fairly targeted measure, but the gesture is notable since it is the deepest easing applied since this rate joined the PBC’s arsenal in 2019, raising hopes that the next gesture will be a more marked easing of global monetary policy…
But the three witches, corresponding to the day when several derivatives expire simultaneously – with the exception of equity futures whose expiry is exclusively quarterly – tarnished the inclinations of a rebound, in addition to the rout of the luxury sector. listening to the disappointing prospects of the Swiss giant Richemont.
On Wall Street, the mood also fell like a soufflé. The American indices, which are trying to reverse a downward trend, are struggling for the moment to achieve their goal and are even heading for a seventh consecutive week in negative territory (or even an eighth for the Dow). The Nasdaq drops more than 1% when the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 give back almost 1%.
In Paris, Unibail-Rodamco closed the week at the top of the CAC 40 thanks to a gain of 2.89%, while Xavier Niel increased his stake in the operator of shopping centers to more than 27%. Veolia Environnement gained 2.74%, driven by a rating from Oddo which confirms its positive opinion on the matter. The defensive Sanofi (+2.24%) and Danone (+1.40%) are also well oriented at the close on Friday.
The luxury compartment has therefore lost its luster, weighed down by Richemont’s disappointment while the outlook for the sector is clouded by the situation in China. LVMH, red lantern gives back more than 2% when Hermès bends by 1.94%. Excluding the star index, Christian Dior dropped 2.2%.
Oil on the rise
For its part, Air-France KLM (+1.06%) also benefits from the announcement of a contribution of 500 million euros in new money via the opening of the capital of a subsidiary dedicated to engines to the Apollo fund .
Punished the day before the announcement of its plan to significantly increase its stake in the capital of Elior, Derichebourg rose by 1.13%, while EDF took 1.35% after communicating a new delay in the construction schedule of new reactors at Hinkley Point in Great Britain.
China’s credit easing boosted oil prices from $106 to $112 during the Asian session, with Brent and WTI now trading at the same price within a few cents (112 .02 for a barrel of Texan crude, 112.20 dollars for that of the North Sea). TotalEnergies only gains 0.35% while Vallourec takes off by 6.75%.
On the exchange side, the euro/dollar parity is changing little at 1.0557.
Sabrina Sadgui
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