Apparently indifferent to the slowdown in growth and geopolitical uncertainties, the Paris Stock Exchange crossed the symbolic threshold of 8,000 points on Thursday March 7 for the first time in its history. The CAC 40 index thus brings its increase to almost 6% since 1er January.
The Parisian market is far from being the only one to experience a buoyant start to the year: the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is also moving at unprecedented levels, that of Tokyo has exceeded its peaks of 1989 (time of a speculative bubble in Japan). ) and on Wall Street, the Dow Jones, Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq indices have all reached historic highs in recent weeks.
At the origin of this simultaneous rise is a combination of factors, starting with the decline in inflation on both sides of the Atlantic, which allows us to hope, by the summer, for a decline in rates. of interest, seen as favorable to shares. A hope which takes precedence, in the minds of investors, over mixed economic prospects.
“The market is looking at the glass half full: rate cuts are coming and there is no recession in Europe, even if growth forecasts are lowered”explains Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France.
International heavyweights
This disconnect between stock market developments and the economic situation can also be explained by the very international nature of the heavyweights on the stock market. “The securities that make up the major indices are those of very international companies, underlines Bertrand Lamielle, general manager of Portzamparc Gestion. Stellantis, for example, which has had a good run since the start of the year, is benefiting from the American economy. » The shares of the parent company of Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler gained 14% over the first two months of the year.
More generally, the results published since mid-January by large listed companies have exceeded expectations (by 7% for the S&P 500, according to calculations by Barclays analysts), which the market has sometimes generously rewarded.
In Paris, the price of the luxury group Hermès reached records after the announcement of a 28% increase in its annual net profit, allowing it to overtake L’Oréal in terms of market capitalization, at more than 240 billion dinars. ‘euros.
But the most spectacular performance remains that of the American Nvidia: the designer of computer processors, which has become essential in the booming artificial intelligence market, saw its price jump 16% on February 22, the day after the publication of its quarterly accounts. The value of the group thus soared in one day by 280 billion dollars, to approach 2,000 billion.
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