PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Thursday, as Wall Street’s rise after well-received results boosted stocks after a mixed first half of the session, especially as the Prime Minister’s resignation Briton, Liz Truss, relieves investors of a risk factor in a time that is not lacking.
Hopes of an easing of the “zero COVID” policy in China, which is boosting oil prices, also benefit equities.
In Paris, the CAC 40, which had gone into the red in the morning, closed with a gain of 0.76% (46.18 points) to 6,086.90 points; in London, the FTSE 100 advanced 0.27% and in Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.2%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index ended up 0.62%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.17% and the Stoxx 600 0.26%.
At the time of the close in Europe, Wall Street was also evolving in positive territory, the Dow Jones winning 0.83%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.59% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.11%.
The American indices were driven in particular by the chemical company Dow (+3.81%), the computer giant IBM (+4.31%) and the telecommunications giant AT&T (+9.04%), whose results and forecasts reassured and overshadowed the disappointment of Tesla (-3.68%) which called into question its 2022 delivery target.
In Europe, the acceleration in the rise of American equities amplified the improvement triggered by the resignation of Liz Truss, announced at 12:30 GMT. The one who only occupied 10 Downing Street for a month and a half, threw in the towel in the face of the risk of a motion of no confidence and promised that her succession would be rapid.
“The favorite is Rishi Sunak, beaten by Liz Truss this summer,” notes Frédéric Rollin, investment strategy advisor at Pictet Asset Management.
“Rishi Sunak’s arrival would be great news for Gilts and sterling,” he added, noting that Rishi Sunak “is known for favoring prudent fiscal policy and productive reforms.”
VALUES
The first big day of results for the quarter in Europe was above all marked by the double disappointment of network equipment giants Nokia and Ericsson, which lost 7.62% and 14.75% respectively for failing to meet market expectations. .
In Paris, Pernod Ricard fell 1.17% despite strong performance, with some analysts deeming its organic growth in the United States in the third quarter disappointing.
On the rise, Hermès gained 1.57% after showing confidence in its ability to continue to raise prices.
THE INDICATORS OF THE DAY
In France, the Insee business climate index is stable for October, at 102, and that of the industry sector exceeds the consensus, at 103 against 101 expected.
In the United States, jobless claims fell last week to 214,000, the Philly Fed index rose less than expected to -8.7 and home resales fell for the eighth consecutive month.
CHANGES
The departure of Liz Truss makes the pound sterling the big winner of the day on the currency market: it appreciates by 0.7% against the dollar and 0.08% against the euro.
The single European currency takes parallel 0.6% against the greenback at 0.9830.
The yen also regained 0.07% against the dollar to 149.78 after falling below the symbolic threshold of 150 to the dollar for the first time since 1990, which revived speculation on a possible intervention by the Japanese authorities.
RATE
The American indicators of the day, starting with the drop in jobless claims, confirmed the scenario of a continuation of the rapid rise in Fed rates, favoring the rise in yields on Treasury bonds: that of ten-year securities rose to 4.18%, its highest level since June 2008, and the two-year, at 4.614%, rose to the highest since August 2007.
In their wake, the German ten-year hit its highest level since August 2011 at 2.458% before returning to 2.396% at the end of the session.
On the British market, the yields of the “gilts” are also on the rise, but the uncertainty about the succession of Liz Truss and the extent of the next rate hike by the Bank of England is limiting the differences.
OIL
The oil market is up sharply, supported by reports that the Chinese authorities are considering reducing the length of the period of isolation imposed on people arriving from abroad.
Brent rose 0.73% to 93.08 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 1.22% to 86.59 dollars.
(Written by Marc Angrand)
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