The blues of the beginning of the week already seem far away. The financial markets are keeping their spirits up, there is not much to add at the end of the year. The incorrigible optimists turned yesterday to the United States, where several economic indicators were unveiled, with good surprises to the key. Among the indicators for the session, US growth was revised up to 2.3% in annualized terms in the third quarter, against a previous reading of 2.1%. No need to spark any sparks, I grant you, but Uncle Sam’s country is on track to achieve 5.6% annualized growth this year, after contracting 3.4% last year, never before. – seen for almost 40 years.
Still in the macroeconomic register and in terms of good news, US consumer confidence improved more than expected in December according to the Conference Board indicator. In other words, inflation worries a little less despite the rapid rise of the Omicron variant which could raise fears of new shortages, breaks in supply chains and other bottlenecks, which precisely tend to push prices upwards. .
It is therefore time for optimism and nothing seems to be able to spoil the festivities after an exceptional 2021 vintage for European and American equities, not even some hot topics such as the soaring gas prices in Europe. The old continent is paying dearly for the liberalization of its market and its dependence on foreign origins, more particularly on Russian gas. As temperatures settle into negative territory and European stocks are at their lowest, Russian state-controlled Gazprom has cut deliveries to Europe, pushing the prices of major references to delusional levels . To give you an order of magnitude, the TTF, the Dutch benchmark, briefly broke the 180 EUR / MWh mark, which is the equivalent of a barrel of oil at 330 USD. In December alone, gas prices rose 80%. Over the whole year, we are talking about an increase of… 800%.
In this regard, inflation promises to remain at the center of the stakes in 2022. This is all the more true with natural gas since the soaring energy prices in general are disrupting other sectors, with the result. key to further price increases and so on. It is a snowball effect that is already affecting the production of fertilizers, but also the production of industrial metals such as aluminum. The latest fact to date, around ten European energy-intensive industries (which brings together sectors ranging from steel to cement, including fertilizers and paper) issued a joint declaration yesterday to warn political decision-makers about the devastating effects soaring energy prices on their profitability, urging the European Union to act quickly, at the risk of leaving lasting scars on their competitiveness.
Let us return to the equity markets by turning to Asia where the markets are gaining height. The Nikkei closed 0.33% higher and the Hang Seng 0.41% higher. The European stock market should continue its ascent since the CAC40 is expected to rise by 0.35%. The market wants its rally under the tree.
The economic highlights of the day
The schedule is relatively busy today, especially in the United States with jobless claims, household spending and income as well as durable goods orders at 2:30 p.m., ahead of new home sales at 4:00 p.m.
The euro is trading at 1.133 USD. An ounce of gold comes to $ 1,800. In the oil market, WTI is trading at $ 72.60, while Brent is trading at $ 75.3. American debt offers a yield of 1.46% over 10 years. Bitcoin stabilizes at $ 48,300.
The main changes in recommendations
- BioNTech: Kempen is now a buyer and is increasing its target from 300 to 350 USD.
- Capital & Regional PLC: Stifel raises its board to neutral and targets 60 GBP.
- Centogene: Kempen goes buy to neutral and slashes its price target from 22 to 5.50 USD.
- DBV Technologies: Kempen & Co goes from buy to neutral with a target price of 1.10 USD.
- Metro AG: Baader Bank is buying but lowers its target from 12 to 10.50 EUR.
News from companies
In France
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- The French Ministry of the Armed Forces orders 169 Guépard helicopters from Airbus under a 10 billion euro contract.
- Engie finalized the sale of 11.5% of GRTgaz for 1.1 billion euros.
- Renault is restructuring its joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Brillance Auto Group.
- ArcelorMittal buys $ 1.2 billion worth of bonds maturing in 2023.
- Altarea announced the creation of the Alta retail parks fund.
- GTT obtains an order from Samsung Heavy Industries for the design of the tanks of a new LNG carrier.
- Voltalia will build a photovoltaic power plant for the National Center for Space Studies in Guyana.
- 2CRSi receives an order from an American player in high frequency trading.
- Carmat ends its investigation aimed at identifying the origin of the quality problem with its artificial heart.
- Navya appoints Sophie Desormière as Chairman of the Management Board.
- Fountaine Pajot has published its annual accounts.
In the world
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- Pfizer Anti-Covid Tablets Obtain Emergency Use Clearance From FDA.
- Elon Musk has sold enough Tesla shares to meet the 10% share divestiture target.
- Tencent is seeking to exit JD.com by selling shareholders a $ 16 billion stake in dividends.
- European Commission clears acquisition of WarnerMedia by Discovery.
- Cintas revises upwards its forecasts for fiscal year 2022.
- Holcim will buy American roofing company Malarkey for $ 1.4 billion.
- Novartis acquires the British Gyroscope Therapeutics.
- Ryanair lowers its annual financial forecasts.
- Telecom Italia investors are in talks to restructure the group according to Mario Draghi.
- Intershop sells Zurich office building for 114 million Swiss francs
Main results publications. Sanderson Farms, DCM Holdings, Weathernews…
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