(BFM Bourse) – The Paris Stock Exchange did not weaken on Wednesday. The CAC 40 posted a gain of 2% at the close, the market appreciating the results of the American groups FedEx and Nike. US consumer confidence also remains strong. Something to put a smile on investors’ faces after a feverish start to the week.
Does the rebound of the day kick off the Christmas rally? In any case, the movement observed on Wednesday gives a festive air to the stock markets. Up 1% at mid-session, the CAC 40 doubled its lead to close with hearty gains of 2.01% to 6,580.24 points on Wednesday evening.
The star index in Paris had not seen such a rise since November 4 (+ 2.77%), driven by the hope of a reopening of the Chinese economy with the abandonment of zero Covid measures.
This renewed appetite for risk is explained by a euphoric atmosphere on Wall Street after a very good economic indicator and reassuring corporate results. The day before again, the Parisian market had been caught cold by a surprising adjustment of the monetary policy of the Bank of Japan.
Nike picks up the pace
The sports equipment manufacturer Nike surprised the market by unveiling reassuring quarterly accounts, which gives momentum to its share price. The title of the American group wins 14% on Wall Street. The company is trailing European rivals Adidas and Puma in its wake, rising 6.7% and 7.8% respectively, with Stifel seeing a positive cross-read for these two groups in Nike’s publication.
“We saw Nike stand out with their signs of victory yesterday,” said AvaTrade’s Naeem Aslam, who puns the name Nike from the Greek “Nike,” the goddess of victory. “Quarterly sales exceeded Wall Street estimates, allaying investor concerns,” notes John Plassard of Mirabaud.
FedEx, for its part, published profits for the second quarter of its 2022-2023 fiscal year above market expectations and announced new savings measures for a total of 1 billion dollars. The stock is currently up 4.8% on Wall Street.
The return of trust
Consumers have regained morale on both sides of the Atlantic. The survey, carried out by the Conference Board, shows a surprise rise in the morale of American consumers to 108.3 points against 101.4 points in November, a peak since April.
In Germany, German consumer sentiment, as measured by the Gfk index, has improved. The index, which establishes a forecast for the month of January, stood at -37.8 against -40.1 for the month of December.
In Europe, “confidence indicators have been bouncing back for two months after reaching extremely degraded levels after the summer. This suggests that the recession expected this winter should be mild”, underlines Xavier Chapard of La Banque Postale Asset Management.
Interparfums in the scent of holiness
As for values on the Paris Stock Exchange, if green is the trend, Interparfums stands out particularly. The group ends up 6.5% after announcing a licensing agreement with the Lacoste brand. But it was Valneva that took the lead in the SBF 120 with a gain of 7.2%.
Figeac Aero rose 2.4% after recording strong growth and reducing its net loss in the first half of its staggered 2022-2023 financial year.
BioMérieux gained 1.8% benefiting from an upgraded buy recommendation from Societe Generale. For its part, Soitec gained 2.9% while Stifel began to cover the value with a purchase advice.
On other markets, the euro was down slightly by 0.2% at 1.0600 dollars. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose after a surprise drop in US oil inventories last week. North Sea Brent crude for February delivery advanced 2.4% to $81.89 a barrel while New York-listed WTI rose 2.3% to $78 a barrel.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2022 BFM Bourse