(Boursier.com) — THE TREND
The rebound initiated in the morning quickly came to an end this Friday in a very heavy international atmosphere pending the Putin-Macron meeting on Monday against a backdrop of escalation around the Ukrainian file. The CAC40 finally lost 0.77%, to finish below 7,000 points, at 6,951 points.
Vinci and Sanofi, the two heavyweights of the Parisian rating having published their annual accounts since the closing last night, tried to resist the pressure. On the other hand, the depression remains in place in the addiction sector pending a new investigation on France 2 as part of the program “Cash Investigation”
ECO AND CURRENCIES
The trend is also marked by the change in tone of the President of the European Central Bank, who did not rule out raising interest rates during the year to curb the rise in prices. On the bond front, the 10-year OAT is still progressing to exceed 0.60% while this yield was still negative last December…
Although the ECB did not modify its monetary policy after its meeting on Thursday, its president Christine Lagarde admitted that inflation was well above its targets, and it no longer repeated that it was “highly unlikely” that the ECB would raise its key rates This year. However, it ruled out any hasty decision, betting that price rises should ebb in the course of the year, even if they should remain high for longer than expected. The head of the ECB added that “in March, when we have additional data, when we have been able to integrate the figures we have received in recent days into our analysis work, we will be able to take stock”. The markets reacted strongly to this change in tone which, for many players, opens the at least one rate hike this year.
The American employment figures confirmed their extreme volatility on Friday… place consensus. The unemployment rate, on the other hand, rose to 4%, against 3.9% expected and 3.9% also a month earlier. Job creations in the private sector, in total contradiction with the recent ADP report (which reported more than 300,000 destructions), came out positive at 444,000, twice as many as expected. Manufacturing employment generated 13,000 jobs.
Average hourly earnings climbed more than expected, 0.7% month-on-month and 5.7% year-on-year. The labor force participation rate rose to 62.2%, against 61.8% consensus. Finally, note that job creations for the month of December 2021 have been revised up very sharply to 510,000, against 199,000 previously estimated.
These good employment figures are not necessarily good stock market news, insofar as they reinforce the probability of a strong move by half a point rather than a quarter point, for the initial rate hike. from the Fed expected in March.
The euro rises to 1.1450/$, while oil climbs again to $93.35 per Brent.
RISING VALUES
Publicis (+3.7%) remains well oriented this weekend, still driven by the historic results recorded last year. A publication that leads many analysts to adjust to the case. SocGen (‘buy’) for example raised its target from 72 to 77 euros, Kepler Cheuvreux (‘buy’) revalued the stock from 65 to 70 euros and BNP Paribas (‘outperform’) raised the cursor from 68 to 74 euro. Credit Suisse also raised its target from 65 to 70 euros while maintaining its ‘neutral’ rating.
Dassault Systems earns more than 3%. SocGen moved to the ‘buy’ with an adjusted target of 46 to 48 euros.
NRJ Group climbed by nearly 5%, while the group recorded in the 4th quarter of 2021 a consolidated turnover excluding exchanges of 114 ME, a strong growth of 13.8% compared to the 4th quarter of 2020 and 6.3% compared to the same period of 2019. Consolidated revenue excluding barters for the 2021 financial year amounted to €365.1 million, up 12.4% compared to the 2020 financial year.
vinci climbed 0.6% after the announcement of very solid annual results and an equally robust 2022 guidance. The construction and concessions giant generated a consolidated net profit Group share of 2.6 billion euros last year, up 109% compared to 2020 (but still down 20% compared to 2019 ) for a turnover of 49.4 MdsE against 43.23 MdsE a year earlier. Data above analysts’ estimates. Free cash flow reached a record level of 5.3 billion euros (4.2 billion euros in 2019 and 4 billion euros in 2020). This performance, which far exceeded expectations, notably reflects a further significant improvement in working capital requirements and current provisions. The order book reached 44.514 MdsE as of December 31, 2021, up 5% over one year. Despite a health environment that has not yet stabilized and persistent economic and geopolitical tensions, the group is approaching 2022 with confidence and expects a 2022 net result higher than its 2019 level.
FALLING VALUES
Korian plunges another 16.8%. After three sessions of rebound, the title is violently falling again, still subject to the crisis of confidence affecting the sector. “Cash Investigation” is preparing an issue focusing “on the abuses of the Korian and DomusVi groups” and which will be broadcast in March on France 2. In ‘Le Parisien’ of the day, a spokesperson comments: “We want a fair debate and in live as well as the viewing of the sequences upstream. We know the manners of Cash Investigation, which arrives unexpectedly. We had already contacted the France Télévisions ethics council for an issue of Exhibits (on France 3) at charged.”
Orpea also continues its fall of 12%, the lowest since the beginning of 2013. LNA Health fell by more than 9% despite good business figures.
Ateme : -8.6% with Assystem (-7.7%)
The automotive sector shows the largest declines in the CAC40: Renault and Stellantis lose 4-5%.
Alstom : -5% with Faurecia, Neoen
country house : -4% with Icade, Elior, Gecina, Mercialys
Gorged Group : -3% with FNAC Darty, Valeo, SopraSteria, Casino and Mersen
Sanofi (-1.1%) expects further growth in net earnings per share (EPS) from activities in 2022. The group recorded operating income from activities up 9.8% over the last financial year, to 10.714 billion euros. (+13.3% at constant exchange rates) for net sales up 4.8% in published data (+7.1% at constant exchange rates) to 37.761 billion euros. Over the last three months of the financial year alone, the firm achieved an operating profit from activities of 2.256 billion euros (+9.9% and +6.9% at constant exchange rates) for revenues of 9.994 billion euros, in up 6.5% on a reported basis and 4.1% at constant exchange rates. Sanofi was driven by its atopic dermatitis treatment Dupixent, whose sales broke records quarter after quarter, making the Specialty Medicines division the group’s first in terms of turnover. Sanofi also benefited from the dynamism of its vaccines division, whose turnover increased by 6.8% in 2021, to 6.323 billion euros, despite a drop of 6.5% in the last quarter linked to the decline in sales of influenza vaccines in the United States. Management is targeting growth “in the lower double-digit range” of its EPS from activities at constant exchange rates after an increase of 15.5% in 2021, above the objective of growth around 14% that he had set himself.