(BFM Bourse) – The strength was not on the side of the Parisian index on Wednesday, frightened by the prospect of the beginning of a normalization of the monetary policy of the American Federal Reserve against a backdrop of inflation. The CAC 40 lost more than 1% on Wednesday evening below 6,400 points, the day after a fragile rebound.
The session of the day was not easy as the intentions of the American Federal Reserve on its monetary policy concentrate all the concerns of the operators. The Paris Stock Exchange widened its losses shortly after 3:30 p.m., to end down 1.24% at 6,395.68 points. London lost 0.90%, Milan 1.40% and Frankfurt 0.49%. The American markets are following the trend, in particular the S&P500 index which lost 0.6% when the Nasdaq did less well (-1.52%).
Unless there is a huge surprise, the American central bank should announce a rise of 0.5 points in its rates for the first time since May 2000. Some operators fear that they will witness the announcement of a rise in June at least equal to that here to curb inflation at its highest in 40 years in the United States. If not higher, some observers are now expecting an additional tightening of +0.75 points on June 15, which would be unheard of since 1994.
In addition to interest rates, the Fed is expected to kick off its actions to reduce its balance sheet by $95 billion a month, starting in June. In this context, bond yields remain at high levels, like the American 10-year, which flirts with 3% to 2.97%.
At the same time, the ADP survey on the private sector disappointed operators with job creations lower than the consensus at 247,000 in April, where expectations were placed at 383,000 new job creations. The other economic indicators published today do not encourage risk-taking, such as the American trade balance, whose deficit widened to a record level of 109.8 billion dollars in March, much more than the 97.5 billion expected by analysts.
Solvay on the rise, EDF red lantern after its accounts
Corporate publications are still driving the rating, but the pace tends to slow down as we get deeper into the month of May.
Solvay jumped nearly 6% after raising its forecast for underlying gross operating surplus for 2022. The Belgian chemical company reported record sales and a sharp rise in net profit in the first three months of the year In progress.
Maisons du Monde picked up 4.24% to 16.28 euros, after announcing performance in line with its forecasts. It still anticipates positive growth in sales this year, together with an operating margin (Ebit) of around 9%, unless the macroeconomic environment deteriorates.
On the other hand, the results announced by EDF were coolly received. The title EDF limits its losses to 2.47%, while the energy company has yet announced a sharp increase in its turnover in the first quarter. However, he warned that nuclear production will penalize Ebitda due to the necessary purchases on the wholesale markets in a context of sharply rising prices.
Ubisoft Wanted
Excluding publications, Ubisoft ends the day up sharply by 9% to 46.10 euros as speculation is rife about a possible takeover of the video game studio. Several investment companies such as Blackstone and KKR would indeed be in discussion with the group again, Bloomberg announced at the end of April. Since then, the title has evolved according to rumours…
Vallourec wins 2.2%, the manufacturer of seamless tubes announces the partial restart of the operation of its iron mine, without using the tailings pond following an agreement from the mining authorities for a period of three month. Just like Technip Energies (+1.41%) or Maurel & Prom (+1.95%) Vallourec is benefiting from the rise in oil prices after the announcement of a gradual European embargo on Russian oil.
Up at midday, Thales turned down to yield 1.41%. The defense group announced on Tuesday the acquisition of RUAG Simulation & Training, a company with 500 employees, which generated in 2021 a turnover of around 90 million euros.
Amoeba drops 18.77% to 0.593 euros, weighed down by Malta’s decision not to approve its biocidal active substance in cooling towers in Europe.
In the forex market, the euro is up slightly against the dollar at $1.0547. On the oil side, Brent is trading at $108.72 and WTI at $106.16 as the European Commission proposed a “gradual” embargo on oil and petroleum products imported from Russia, in retaliation for the war in Ukraine.
Sabrina Sadgui
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