(CercleFinance.com) – The Paris Stock Exchange (-0.4% to 6,565) seems to be taking the time to digest the 4% rise of the day before, a surge that occurred at a particularly opportune moment since 48 hours from the ‘4 witches’, the loss on the CAC40 ‘March’ contract is reduced to a big -5% against -15% just 10 days earlier.
The CAC40 which is doing quite well this Thursday since the Euro-Stoxx50 drops more than 1.1% and the DAX40 -1.4%.
One of the factors that is likely to weigh on prices in the coming hours is the +7.5% rebound in the barrel of ‘Brent’ and ‘WTI’ (to $105.3 and $102 respectively), which which could rekindle fears of recession in Europe
On Wall Street, the indices consolidate the spectacular rise of the last 90 minutes of the session of 03/16 (+3.3% for the Nasdaq without the slightest ‘breathing’): the Dow Jones yields -0.3%, the S&P500 -0.2%, the Nasdaq -0.4%.
The US figures of the day have little impact on prices: after a rise of 1.4% in January, US industrial production rose another 0.5% last month, according to the Federal Reserve, a growth broadly in line with that which the economists hoped on average.
The Fed points out that production is 7.5% higher than its February 2020 level. The industrial capacity utilization rate improved by 0.3 points to 77.6%, a level however lower by 1, 9 points to its long-term average.
Housing starts rebounded 6.8% in CVS data last month in the United States, to 1,769,000 annualized, a level well above consensus.
According to the Department of Commerce, the number of building permits for American housing, supposed to foreshadow future housing starts, on the other hand fell by 1.9% to 1,859,000 in February, a level quite close to the average estimate of economists.
Growth in manufacturing activity accelerated in the northeastern United States in March, according to the ‘Philly Fed’ index, which came out at 27.4 this month against 16 in February, while the economists predicted a slight decline on average.
As a reminder, the ‘Philly Fed’ is one of the first leading monthly indicators to get an idea of the health of the American manufacturing sector. A figure above zero indicates growth in manufacturing activity in the region.
On the geopolitical front, military operations continue in Ukraine with overnight bombings reported in Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia while Mariupol remains under siege.
As the EU recently adopted a 4th round of sanctions against Moscow, the prospect of a Russian default is becoming increasingly real. Not enough to shake Vladimir Putin, who is continuing his showdown with the West and has authorized the repayment of debts in rubles ($117 million this Wednesday).
The EU also distinguished itself yesterday by managing to connect the Ukrainian electricity network to the community network. If the operation was planned for a long time, it was accelerated by the conflict and takes on a new meaning since the Russians took control of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, which provides a large part of the country’s electricity.
Last night, investors awaited the outcome of the Fed’s monetary policy committee meeting with interest. Unsurprisingly, the central bank raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points, thereby setting the Fed Funds target range at between 0.25 and 0.50%.
‘At the same time, the Federal Reserve has hinted at a whole series of new rate hikes and announced that it will start reducing its securities portfolio at a future meeting,’ said Commerzbank.
On this side of the Atlantic, the latest inflation figures in the euro zone came out in line with expectations.
Across the Channel, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted a further increase of 25pts to 0.75% but suggests a slowdown in the pace of tightening given a more uncertain future.
The Euro continues its recovery against the Dollar, at 1.1060 (+0.4%) and one of the ‘highlights’ this Thursday is the sharp rebound in the price of oil which has gained more than 4% at London and New York (at $105.3 and $102 respectively).
In securities news, Veolia is proposing a dividend up 43% to one euro per share for 2021, on the occasion of the publication of a current EPS doubled to 1.45 euro and a current EBIT up (at constant exchange rates) by 42% to 1.77 billion.
EDF announces that it has entered into bilateral credit lines with nine banks for a total amount of 10.25 billion euros (part of which in dollars), lines with a maturity of three years and not including any early repayment penalty.
Finally, according to information from BFM Business, Airbus is interested in the cybersecurity division of Atos. The aircraft manufacturer would thus like to develop its digital activities and develop new professions in its Defense & Space division, indicates the chain.
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