PARIS (Reuters) – European stocks ended higher on Friday as stocks benefited from cheap buying after the recent downturn, and Wall Street fell mid-session as consumers worried about the stalemate in Washington on the American debt.
In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.45% to 7,414.85 points. The British Footsie gained 0.26% and the German Dax 0.5%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index advanced by 0.12%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.42% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.37%.
The slight uptick in interest in equities at the end of the week follows a series of statistics showing that the slowdown in inflation and the labor market is continuing in the United States, which could convince the Federal Reserve to stop its monetary tightening cycle starting next month.
This outlook took precedence over concerns about China’s fragile economic recovery, regional banks in the US and the US debt ceiling.
It is also the fears of American households on this issue which explains the drop in the confidence index of the University of Michigan to its lowest level for six months.
On Wall Street, the three major indices fell from 0.3% to 0.5%.
VALUES
On the stock market, Societe Generale took 1.19%, the third French bank by market capitalization having reported quarterly results generally above expectations.
On the SBF 120 side, Soitec lost 4.69% after JPMorgan’s move to “underweight”, JCDecaux lost 3.79% after forecasts deemed cautious by analysts while the reinsurer Scor jumped 9, 43% after having almost doubled its net profit in January-March.
In Zurich, Richemont, owner of Cartier, gained 3.51% and hit a historic high after posting sales above expectations thanks to China.
CHANGES
Against other major currencies, the dollar is heading for its best weekly performance since February (+0.52%), a rebound that currency traders explain by its status as a safe haven.
The euro fell below 1.09 dollars and the pound sterling lost 0.4%.
RATE
Bond yields remain trending higher on both sides of the Atlantic but are expected to register a weekly pullback, with the Fed’s dovish expectations in June.
The ten-year German, up five basis points, rose to 2.269% at the end of the session. Its American equivalent takes over four points to 3.4345%.
OIL
On the oil market, Brent and WTI fell 0.97% to 74.25 and 70.18 dollars respectively.
(Laetitia Volga, edited by Tangi Salaün)
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