(BFM Bourse) – The flagship Parisian index closes for the first time in its history above 8,000 points, propelled by the downward revisions of the ECB’s inflation forecasts. Markets are now betting on a rate cut from June
The Paris Stock Exchange can say a big thank you to the European Central Bank. The CAC 40 has finally managed to cross the 8,000 points mark for the first time in its history, a little over two years after having exceeded 7,000 points.
It ends its run this Thursday, March 7, up 0.77%, at 8,016.22 points, which constitutes a historic closing high. In the session, the tone was already set, with an absolute peak at 8,029.37 points, recorded shortly before 4:50 p.m., which is again a historic record in the session.
The CAC 40 thus erases its previous mark of February 29 at 7,977.68 points, the previous session record for the Parisian index. At the close, the previous CAC 40 record was reached on February 23 at 7,966.68 points.
ECB announcements welcomed
The markets accelerated their rise after the ECB’s announcements concerning its inflation and growth forecasts. The Frankfurt-based institution lowered its inflation forecast to 2.3% for 2024 compared to 2.7% previously anticipated. And for 2025, the ECB now expects inflation to reach its target of 2%. GDP growth should reach 0.6% in 2024 compared to 0.8% forecast in December, again according to the ECB.
With this new data, the markets hope that the ECB will relax its monetary policy in the coming months with a rate cut. Which is favorable for risky assets and therefore for equity markets. “Given the revisions to the ECB’s forecasts and the slightly changed wording of the statement accompanying its decision, the ECB is moving closer to the first interest rate cut,” says Mark Wall, chief economist at Deutsche Bank.
Teleperformance picks up
On the value side, the stock market nightmare continues for Teleperformance. The stock fell more than 23% after revealing lower-than-expected fourth-quarter growth and a disappointing margin forecast for 2024.
JCDecaux dropped 9.1%, after disappointing its annual results and announcing prospects a bit below expectations for its first quarter revenues.
Spie jumped 6.4% driven by 2023 results deemed “robust” by Jefferies. The multi-technical service provider has in fact achieved its margin objective two years in advance.
Believe for its part gained 5% while the American group Warner Music confirmed its interest in the French nugget of online music publishing.
On other markets, the euro rose 0.3% to $1.0934 after the ECB meeting. Oil moves in scattered order. The May contract on Brent from the North Sea gained 0.1% to 83.02 dollars per barrel, while that of April on WTI listed in New York lost 0.2% to 78.97 dollars per barrel.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2024 BFM Bourse