The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP/Archives/ERIC PIERMONT)
World stock markets were in disarray on Friday, with Asia falling, weighed down by the drop in Chinese exports, while Europe advanced, driven by inflation indicators welcomed in the region.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell 2.18%, Shanghai fell 0.49% and Shenzhen fell 0.78%.
Chinese exports fell sharply again last month, a first in six months, according to official figures published Friday, a new sign of the lack of dynamism in Asia’s largest economy.
In Europe, around 11:30 GMT, the Paris Stock Exchange advanced by 0.80%, Frankfurt by 0.83% and Milan gained 1.22%.
The FTSE 100, the main index of the London Stock Exchange, gained 1.28% and moved above 8,000 points, approaching its session record (8,047.06 points), driven by growth in gross domestic product ( GDP) of the United Kingdom.
The session was also marked by several inflation indicators in Europe well received by the market.
In Germany, inflation fell significantly to 2.2% year-on-year in March, to its lowest level since May 2021 and in France, underlying inflation fell again year-on-year to +2.2 % in March 2024, after +2.6% in February.
These data are published the day after the ECB’s monetary policy meeting which did not create any surprises by leaving its rates unchanged while opening the door to a first rate cut in June.
“It would take a big surprise for the ECB not to lower its rates in June,” comments Xavier Chapard, from the LBPAM research and strategy team.
The European monetary institution would thus be ready to react more quickly than the American central bank (Fed), faced with inflation in the United States which accelerated in March, to 3.5% over one year, according to the CPI index. .
On Wall Street, futures contracts for the three main indices oscillated between -0.28% and -0.50%.
On the bond market, the yield on American and European government bonds eased significantly, after experiencing a surge this week following the publication of the CPI index on Wednesday, which surprised the market upwards for the third consecutive month.
JP Morgan worried about inflation
In electronic trading before the opening of Wall Street, JP Morgan dropped 2.17% after announcing better than expected results in the first quarter, despite concerns about persistent inflation.
Petrofac unscrews in London
The British oil and energy services group Petrofac, whose finances worry investors, fell more than 23% in London after announcing that discussions with its creditors could lead to “the exchange of a significant proportion of debt for equity”.
Société Générale sells a subsidiary
The banking group Société Générale announced on Friday that it had signed a contract for 745 million euros to sell its shares in Société Générale Maroc to the Moroccan holding company Saham.
The stock jumped 4.52% in Paris.
Thyssenkrupp downsizes
The leading German steel producer Thyssenkrupp (+1.45% in Frankfurt) will reduce its production capacity by a quarter and eliminate an undefined number of jobs at its historic site in Duisburg in the Ruhr, in Germany, in reaction to still difficult market conditions, he announced Thursday evening.
Gold continues its rise
Gold reached a new record on Friday, at $2,400.67 per ounce, and was trading at $2,392.68 around 11:25 GMT.
On the oil side, prices were rising, supported by geopolitical risk, as investors feared disruptions to global supplies if the conflict between Israel and Hamas spreads to neighboring countries, particularly Iran.
The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent for delivery in June rose 0.98% to $90.62 and its American equivalent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rose 1.15% to $86.00.
On the foreign exchange market, the single European currency lost 0.66%, to 1.0655 dollars per euro.
Bitcoin gained 0.41% to $70,798.
© 2024 AFP
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