THE TREND
(Boursier.com) — If Wall Street broke new records during the session yesterday, notably with the Dow Jones above 40,000 points for the first time, Paris is not doing the same today. The CAC40, which closed below 8,200 points yesterday, lost 0.35% at the end of the morning around 8,160 points
Two Fed officials, including John Williams, vice chairman of the FOMC, the bank’s monetary policy committee, said Thursday that they have not yet openly changed their minds on the timing of rate cuts. The market is now expecting a first decline in September. But not by much (50.5% of investors according to the Fedwatch barometer)…
For her part, Isabel Schnabel, member of the ECB, called for caution on a cut in the bank’s rates beyond June, given the uncertainty surrounding the outlook, the Nikkei daily reported on Friday. The market widely expects a rate cut in June while the latest inflation figures remained very encouraging.
RISING VALUES
* Few significant increases on the CAC40. TotalEnergies recovers 0.8% to 67 euros after three previous sessions of decline.
* Sodexo rose 2.3% to 85 euros. The collective catering giant is supported by a note from Morgan Stanley which raised its recommendation on the value to ‘overweight’ by targeting 96 euros.
* Ubisoft recovers 2% to 20.6 euros after having plunged 13% yesterday. Deutsche Bank reduced its target from 35 to 32 euros (‘buy’) and Goldman Sachs adjusted its price target from 24 to 25 euros (‘neutral’).
FALLING VALUES
* Engie lost almost 2% to 15.5 euros after revealing declining results in the first quarter due to the drop in energy prices and particularly mild weather this winter. Ebitda stood at 4.8 billion euros (-1.2%) for a turnover of 22 billion euros (-24.6%). Cash flow from operations reached €1.4 billion thanks to the improvement in working capital. The firm confirmed its 2024 guidance with an RNRpg expected between 4.2 and 4.8 BnE. Management had signaled in February that its profits would decline in 2024 and potentially beyond as energy prices decline. Engie also plans to close three of its five remaining reactors in Belgium by the end of next year.
* Score stumbles by almost 8% below 30 euros after a disappointing first quarter. The reinsurer revealed a net result of 196 ME for the first three months of the year, down 37%, against a consensus of 209 ME. Gross written premiums increased by 4.4% to 4.95 billion euros. The solvency ratio is estimated at 215% at the end of the quarter, at the high end of the optimal solvency range of 185%-220%, compared to 209% at the end of 2023, driven by good generation of operational capital in reinsurance P&C. The market nevertheless expected a level higher than 217.1%.
* Carmat logically plunges by 25% to 3 euros after having raised 16 million euros at a unit price of 3 euros, i.e. with a spot discount of 26.5% compared to the closing price of the action on May 15. The main purpose of this call to the market is to strengthen the company’s equity and finance its short-term working capital requirements. The net proceeds from the operation allow Carmat to continue its operations until mid-August 2024, and in particular to continue the development of its production and sales, as well as its EFICAS clinical trial in France.