(BFM Bourse) – The CAC 40 ended very slightly higher this Thursday. Weighed down by negative press information in China, Apple shares continue to decline.
The Paris Stock Exchange puts an end to a bad streak. The CAC 40 ended with a small increase of 0.03% to 7196.10 points, ending a series of consecutive declines.
The market hesitated, and the lack of support from Wall Street weighed on the session. The Nasdaq Composite lost another 1.1% driven by the fall of Apple. The smartphone manufacturer dropped another 2.9% after having already fallen 3.6% the day before. The group has suffered since Wednesday from information from Wall Street Journal reporting that China has banned employees of government agencies from using or bringing iPhones to work. China represents just under 20% of Apple’s revenue.
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Slight bond easing
Conversely, the slight easing of bond yields provides slight support for European stock markets. The 10-year German Bund rate stands at 2.622% compared to 2.657% on Wednesday.
The fall in the euro, which fell 0.2% against the dollar to $1.709, falling to its lowest since March, may also help eurozone markets.
Regarding the main indicators, weekly unemployment claims in the United States stood at 216,000 units, less than the 230,000 expected by economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.
In the euro zone, gross domestic product (GDP) was revised downwards in the second quarter, to 0.1% compared to 0.3% previously.
In China, the contraction of exports in August for the fourth consecutive month is part of a long series of poor economic indicators for the world’s second largest economy. “We believe that the economy will enter recession during the second half of the year,” asserts Capital Economics.
Orange and Airbus stand out
On the value side, tech suffered in the wake of the Nasdaq. On the CAC 40, the biggest declines were recorded by STMicroelectronics (-4.1%) and Worldline (-3.5%).
ArcelorMittal lost 2.6%, penalized by an agreement between the European Union and the United States on new customs duties targeting steel imports from China, according to the Bloomberg agency.
Conversely, Orange performed well (+2.1%), while UBS resumed its purchase recommendation while raising its target to 12.7 euros compared to 12.1 euros previously. She judges that the value offers an interesting dynamic with an attractive price.
The same goes for Airbus, which rose 1.9% thanks to good delivery figures in August.
Excluding the flagship index, the new Scor strategic plan “Forward 2026” received a favorable reception. The reinsurer’s stock increased by 4.7% this Thursday.
Valneva fell 0.5%. Pfizer and the French laboratory communicated positive data this Thursday in children and adolescents for their vaccine candidate against Lyme disease. Chargeurs lost 10.35% after experiencing a plunge in its turnover and profitability in the first half.
As for oil prices, the latter are taking a small break from their November 2022 peaks. The November North Sea Brent contract lost 0.1% to $90.47 per barrel, while that of October on WTI listed in New York lost 0.05% to 87.49 dollars per barrel.
Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse