(BFM Bourse) – Weighed down by banking, automobile and aeronautical stocks, in particular those most exposed to Russia, the CAC 40 erased its rebound from the last two sessions after the announcement of new sanctions against Russia.
Managed to extricate itself from its “range” around 6,600 points last Tuesday to return to its level preceding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the CAC 40 returned nearly 100 points on Tuesday, still against a background of evolution of the war and associated sanctions against Moscow. After two sessions of increase, Friday (+0.37%) and Monday (+0.70%), the barometer of the Parisian place retrocedes 1.28% to 6,645.21 points this Tuesday, in a volume of exchanges which However, it expanded in the afternoon (4.1 billion over the session).
“It’s a week of transition for the Paris Stock Exchange. Major economic announcements are scheduled for next week (inflation in the United States, meeting of the European Central Bank, etc.)”, points out Christopher Dembik, director of research macroeconomics at Saxo Bank. “Despite the rebound in technology-related stocks in the United States, European indices should open without any real trend this morning, as investors have decided to ‘put aside’ the war in Ukraine for the moment”, judged for his part John Plassard, Deputy Director of Investments at Mirabaud, in his morning note. The CAC 40 in fact moved close to equilibrium until 10 a.m. before tipping into the red. The expert nevertheless wonders until when the operators will ignore information from Ukraine.
An element of response appeared in the afternoon, with the promulgation of new international sanctions in reaction to the discovery this week of massacres of civilians attributed to the Russian army in several towns on the outskirts of kyiv, including Boutcha. The United States has stepped up pressure on Moscow by banning Russia from Tuesday from repaying its debt with dollars held in US banks, raising the risk of a Russian default. At the same time, the European Commission proposed on Tuesday to the Twenty-Seven to toughen the sanctions against Moscow, by stopping their purchases of Russian coal, which represent 45% of EU imports, and by closing European ports to Russian ships. .
These new economic reprisals prompted investors to once again abandon the French stocks most exposed to Russia, starting with Renault (-6.2%) and Société Générale (-5.7%).
In terms of statistics, investors had the PMI indices (from the survey carried out by IHS Markit and S&P Global) concerning private sector activity in the euro zone to get their teeth into on Tuesday morning. In France, this indicator stood at 57.4 in March, in line with its “flash” estimate, after 55.5 in February – the threshold of 50 marks, as a reminder, the limit between expansion and contraction of activity. “Growth accelerated in March in the sector, the new lifting of health restrictions, in particular the abandonment of the “vaccination pass”, having supported activity and stimulated demand”, underlines Joe Hayes, senior economist at S&P Global. . Same observation in the euro zone, where activity in services was supported by the lifting of measures linked to the pandemic. However, the survey points out that the recovery seen in March is threatened by soaring energy costs linked to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army.
Outstanding bank securities
Still very little news to report this Tuesday on the securities front in Paris, a week before the “official” launch of a new season of results, on behalf of the first quarter of 2022, with in particular LVMH on Tuesday and Hermès on Thursday.
By sector, it is the banking stocks which are (still) struggling this Tuesday at midday, Crédit Agricole (penalized by a change in the recommendation of AlphaValue) and BNP Paribas yielding respectively 5% and 4.6% in the wake of Societe Generale, despite a further surge in bond yields. STMicro also fell by 5.3% after the fire (the track of a voluntary act is privileged) of several power lines in Isère which affected the power supplies of the factories of the specialist in semiconductors, as well as that of its competitor Soitec (-3.7%).
Among the other sharp declines, Veolia fell by 5.3% and the aeronautics sector also took the lead in the wing (-4.4% for Airbus, -3.2% for Safran). Saint Gobain and Stellantis for their part yielded 4.3% and 3.7%.
Orpea is making headlines again after 80 complaints from families of residents were filed on Monday before the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office against the retirement home giant, accused of “endangering others” and “manslaughter”. The title drops 6.1%, and once again drags that of its competitor Korian in its wake (-3.2%).
Among the smallest values, Medesis Pharma jumped 127% (!) after taking stock of its treatments dedicated to large populations contaminated or irradiated after a civil or military nuclear accident.
Oil is changing little
Oil prices are hesitant on Tuesday, oscillating between red and green, while the EU discusses new sanctions against Moscow, the Commission having proposed to the 27 to stop their purchases of Russian coal but without deciding on the black gold for now. Rising in the morning, the barrel of Brent thus posted a slight drop around 6:10 p.m. (-0.3% to 107.2 dollars).
On the currency market, finally, the single currency continues its violent decline of the last three days having made it go back below the threshold of 1.10 dollars, dropping an additional 0.50% to 1.0919 dollars.
Quentin Soubranne – ©2022 BFM Bourse