(BFM Bourse) – Operators gave in to the call for the summer holidays when the results season is essentially over. The CAC 40 offers itself a rise of 0.8%, still firmly established at 6,500 points on Monday evening. Trade is calm pending the publication of July inflation figures in the United States on Wednesday.
A nice rebound to start this week traditionally the poorest in news for listed companies. The CAC 40 ends on a variation far from being anecdotal, with an increase of 0.80% to 6,524.44 points, after having increased by 1.41% to 6,564.24 points at the highest of the session. Volumes, however, remained very small, with 2.3 billion euros traded on Monday. A more than classic torpor in this second week of August, for lack of participants on the stock markets.
The atmosphere is therefore rather optimistic. The Paris Stock Exchange has just experienced five consecutive weeks of growth, including the past one (+0.37%). On Wall Street, it is also time for a rebound at the close of European stock markets after a half-fig half-grape weekend.
After the US employment data published last Friday, it is the inflation figures in the United States scheduled for Wednesday that will set the pace for the stock market week. Expected like milk on the fire, this statistic will give indications on the orientation of the future monetary policy of the American Federal Reserve.
While waiting for this big meeting of the week, the American rating is taking advantage of the adoption on Sunday by the US Senate of the Biden administration’s “inflation reduction” bill. The text provides for measures aimed at lowering the prices of medicines and aid for the purchase of electric cars. Electric car manufacturers were still well oriented, like Tesla (5.1%), Rivian Automotive (9%) or Lordstown Motors (5%).
Inflation remains at the heart of stock market debates. The latest US employment figures show a 5.2% increase in the average hourly wage over one year due to the labor shortage. An inventory that should push the Fed to continue its monetary normalization movement if inflation does not calm down. On this subject, the statement by Loretta Mester of the Federal Reserve office in Cleveland leaves no doubt about the position favored by Fed officials. It indicates that a pause in rate hikes could only come in the second half of 2023. On Saturday, Michelle Bowman, a governor of the Fed pleaded for the monetary institution to continue to raise its key rates sharply until until inflation actually comes down. The probability of another rate hike of 0.75% in September is estimated at nearly 70% from 34% on Thursday, before the release of US employment figures.
A rare news from the business side
On the business front, the animation was weak or almost non-existent during this summer break. Among the rare companies to have communicated on Monday, we can cite Veolia Environnement, which announces the sale of Suez’s waste activities in the United Kingdom to Macquarie for 2.4 billion euros, to “meet the main obligations of the authority British competition”. The title of the French specialist in water, waste and energy management ended up 2%.
Off the coast, Navya (-1.2%) announces a new partnership in the United States with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, AECOM, and the city of White Bear Lake (Minnesota), for the deployment of a Navya shuttle Autonom Arma as part of a one-year pilot project.
Neovacs (-20.6%) wants to invest in Pharnext (-6.1% after +34% at midday) in the form of equity loans with BSA in order to support the biopharmaceutical company at an advanced clinical stage developing new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases with no satisfactory therapeutic solution.
Among the other asset classes, the two major benchmarks regained ground after a week marked by heavy losses. Brent recovered 1.6% to 95.96 dollars, WTI gained 1.9%, back on 90 dollars that the euro grabbed 0.3% to 1.0209 dollars.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2022 BFM Bourse