(BFM Bourse) – Fears about the direction of prices in Germany were stronger than the signs of a rebound in economic activity in China. The CAC 40 thus begins this new month down 0.46%, back below 7,300 points.
The Paris Stock Exchange was ready to get off to a good start this month of March, buoyed by the relief linked to the signs of a recovery in manufacturing activity in China. But the publication of higher inflation than expected for the month of February in Germany has indeed cold picked operators.
Up 0.6% before the statistics, the CAC 40 suddenly saw its gains fade before falling into the red less than half an hour from closing. The star index in Paris ended this first session of March down 0.46% to 7,234.35 points on Wednesday evening. Over the whole month of February, the index was a winner of 2.6%.
The harmonized price index, which serves as a benchmark for the European Central Bank (ECB), rose 9.3% in Germany in February year on year, while the consensus expected a rise of 9%.
Price pressures therefore continued on the other side of the Rhine last month, as in France or Spain. This resumption of inflation in the member countries suggests a similar price trend for the euro zone as a whole. It also reinforces the prospect of further tightening of interest rates by the ECB.
In response to these expectations of a more aggressive ECB, the euro strengthened against the greenback and gained 0.85% to 1.0669 dollars.
The bond market is also tightening, with European sovereign debt yields rising. The French 10-year rate rose to 3.19%, after reaching 3.219%, its highest since January 2012, while its German counterpart for the same maturity reached 2.70%, the highest since summer 2011.
Eurofins Scientific in the hard
In terms of values, Eurofins Scientific suffered the largest drop in the CAC 40 (-12.1%) after publishing disappointing annual profitability and lowering its outlook for 2023.
BNP Paribas shares (-5%) came under pressure as the Belgian state decided to sell a third of its stake in the bank.
Contrary to the trend, luxury was carried by the good statistics of China, Kering gained 1.2% while the title LVMH limited its gains to 0.4%. The number one luxury has announced a share buyback program for a maximum amount of 1.5 billion euros.
Atos for its part gained 5%, driven by satisfactory 2022 results with an acceleration of growth in the last quarter.
SMCP closes up 4.8% supported by speculation on a change of shareholder of the owner of the Sandro or Maje brands.
Euronext for its part advanced by 4%, the market being relieved that the stock market operator gave up acquiring Allfunds.
On the other markets, oil prices, for their part, resume some colors after the weekly report of the US Energy Information Agency. North Sea Brent crude for May delivery rose 0.3% to $83.72 a barrel while New York-listed WTI for April delivery climbed 0.1% to $77.11 a barrel.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2023 BFM Bourse