(BFM Bourse) – In a still deserted market, the flagship index of the Paris Bourse exceeds its previous peak dating from November 17 thanks to a new gain of 0.57%, the few investors present judging that Omicron does not represent not a threat to economic recovery.
Santa Claus plays overtime. Already spoiled this year, French investors are preparing to end 2021 on an excellent note. The sudden slack in the discovery of the Omicron variant (-4.75% on November 26, the largest daily drop in 2021) was quickly erased, the CAC 40 having regained the threshold of 7,000 points on December 22, i.e. three weeks after its low at 6,655 points (November 30). Reassured by the now probable least dangerousness of this new strain of Covid-19, the barometer of the tricolor rating did not stop there. Less than 20 points from its all-time high at the close on Monday (+ 0.76%), the flagship index retained its bullish bias on Tuesday, and posted a new high at the close, at 7,181.11 points (+0 , 57%), the first since November 17.
“This week will be either a feast or a famine, with little in between,” Jeffrey Halley, analyst at Oanda, warned on Monday. “Either we will observe violent intra-day movements in securities with low liquidity due to the holidays, or volatility will remain flat,” he added. If volatility is not really there for the moment despite the glaring absence of operators (1.7 billion traded within the CAC on Tuesday), the markets still seem to have opted for the first scenario against a background of optimism about the (limited) economic impact of the Omicron variant.
Studies suggesting that the latter causes milder symptoms than previous strains as well as the latest recommendations from the U.S. Health Authority (CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the length of time people are isolated. Ten to five days asymptomatic also supported Wall Street indices. In the aftermath of a 69th historic record at the close this year (+ 1.39%), the S&P (which only did better in 1995 with 75 records) is still moving slightly in the green on Tuesday (+ 0.15%). The Dow Jones advances for its part by 0.5%, while the Nasdaq retrocedes 0.2% to its gains of the day before.
As a reminder, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is traditionally positive for the equity markets, the S&P having posted a positive performance 80% of the time since 1928. This calendar effect, known as the “Christmas rally “(or” Santa Claus Rally “),” favors risky assets and Wall Street hopes to profit from it “explain analysts at Wells Fargo.
Oil continues to rebound
After its strong gains of the day before, black gold is also increasing its progress. Around 5:30 p.m., a barrel of North Sea Brent, a European benchmark for crude, traded at 78.6 dollars, the highest since November 25 and up 0.5% from Monday’s close. A barrel of WTI is trading at 76 dollars (+ 0.6%). Despite the cancellation of thousands of flights and contaminations records forcing some states to reimpose restrictions, “the market consoles itself with the fact that confinements have not been imposed where it was feared that they would be” , Judge Matt Smith responsible for oil analysis for commodity data provider Kpler, who cites the United States or the United Kingdom where the virus is spreading rapidly. “It kind of sends a positive message,” he said.
And this benefits the stocks of the sector, which posted among the best performances of the day this Tuesday in Paris (+ 2% for Vallourec, + 2.3% for CGG, + 0.7% for TotalEnergies).
The CAC 40 ranking is nevertheless dominated by Veolia (+ 2.7%) and Engie (+ 1.6%), without any particular news. Carrefour and Airbus also take 1% each. Among the very rare drops of the day, URW and Renault yielded 0.5% and 0.4% respectively.
Without any marked sectoral trend, the SBF 120 reveals some more marked variations, in particular the increases of Manitou (+ 5.5%), OVHCloud (+ 2.6%) and Bénéteau (+ 2.9%). Eramet (-2.1%), Boiron (-1.1%) and Sodexo (-1.3%) bring up the rear.
On Forex, the single currency returns 0.11% against the greenback at 1.1317 dollars.
Quentin Soubranne – © 2021 BFM Bourse