(CercleFinance.com) – The Paris Stock Exchange ends the session with a gain of 1.27%, at 7911 points, i.e. a 6th consecutive absolute closing record, after having signed a new intraday record a little earlier, at 7924 points .
For its part, the Nasdaq-100 (+2.4%) is literally propelled beyond 17,900 pts by Nvidia which shatters its previous record by almost $35, to $778, and an increase of 15% corresponds to a increase of more than $240 billion in its capitalization (Meta record of +$205 billion pulverized by $35 billion), which exceeds $1,920 billion (an annual increase of more than +50%).
Note a fall in Rivian (-27%) which warned on Wednesday evening of the weakness of its pickup sales expected in 2024, same reason and slightly less severe sanction for Lucid with -10%.
On the figures side, the private sector of the United States saw the growth of its activity slow down in February, according to S&P Global whose composite PMI index stood at 51.4 in flash estimate, after having reached 52 the previous month, its highest high since July 2023.
‘Cost pressures have further dissipated, but growth momentum in the services sector has weakened,’ explains S&P Global, while manufacturing production has returned to growth.
Sales of old homes increased a little more strongly than expected, by +3.1% in January in the United States, in particular thanks to an acceleration of the market in the Midwest, in the south and in the west of the country.
According to figures published this Thursday by the National Federation of Real Estate Agents (NAR), on an annual basis, sales of old homes show a decline of 1.7%.
The median sales price stood at $379,100, an increase of 5.1% from one year to the next.
At the current rate, it takes about three months to sell off the inventory of houses, specifies the NAR.
The Department of Labor announces a drop of -12,000 unemployment benefits in the United States the week of February 12, to 201,000 claimants.
The four-week moving average – more representative of the underlying trend – stood at 215,250 this same week, a decline of 3,500 compared to the revised average of the previous week.
These figures completely take a back seat, as does the cautious tone of the Fed’s ‘minutes’, which confirmed last night that the central bank wanted to give itself time before reducing its rates, which was already factored in by the market.
On the European statistics front, the HCOB composite PMI of overall activity in France recovered from 44.6 in January to 47.7 in February, a nine-month high which thus signals the smallest decline in private sector activity in the current downturn.
Inverse trajectory on the German manufacturing PMI for February with a fall of -3.2 points towards 42.3.
Finally, the HCOB composite flash PMI index of overall activity in the euro zone stood at 48.9 in February, compared to 47.9 in January, signaling a ninth consecutive monthly decline in private business activity, however, the lowest since June 2023.
The bond markets remain stable, far from the exuberance motivated by Nvidia: US T-Bonds erase a symbolic 1pt to 4.313%.
The European ‘stats’ are mixed but the bad German figures arouse interest in Bunds which also erase -1Pt to 2.4300%, our OATs relax by -2Pts to 2.903% and Italian BTPs -4Pts to 3.9050% .
Brent gained 0.4% to $83.5 in London, Gold literally stagnated at $2,020/ounce.
In the news of French companies, Danone publishes current EPS for last year up 3.4% to 3.54 euros, driven by a current operating margin up 40 basis points to 12.6 % for a net turnover of more than 27.6 billion euros.
Eramet (+1.1%) publishes an annual net profit group share (RNPG) down 85% to 109 million euros, and an adjusted EBITDA down 59% to 772 million, for a turnover adjusted by 3.82 billion, an organic decline of 26% due to a negative price effect.
Seb publishes net income for 2023 up 22% to 386 million euros and an operating margin improved by 1.3 points to 9.1%, for annual sales of 8.01 billion euros, an increase of 5.3% like for like (constant exchange rates and scope).
Alongside the publication of its results, Seb announced a planned acquisition of the French family group Sofilac, to strengthen its expertise in high-end cooking and thus continue its growth in the professional and semi-professional markets.
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