The Paris Stock Exchange ended Wednesday’s session at a level close to balance, keeping an eye on China, in a calm market due to the absence of many investors for the summer holidays.
The main CAC 40 index fell 0.10%, or 7.45 points to 7,260.25 points, in very low trading volumes. On Tuesday, the index had dropped to 1.10%, after a series of disappointing indicators on Chinese economic activity, which has struggled to recover since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Investors took notice of a series of economic data on the euro zone with little or no surprises and good economic news in the United States, but this is taking a back seat as the markets remain challenged by the Chinese data published on Tuesday, commented Vincent Juvyns, member of JPMorgan AM’s strategy team.
In July in China, consumption showed signs of weakness and industrial production slowed.
We see things deteriorating, the Chinese economy is seizing up and it has been seizing up for some time, stresses Vincent Juvyns.
The markets hope that the Chinese authorities will put in place economic support measures, but each announcement does not seem to live up to their expectations.
As for the good news, inflation slowed markedly in July in the United Kingdom, 6.8% over one year against 7.9% in June, mainly thanks to the fall in energy prices, while in the United States In the United States, industrial production rose again in July and housing starts rose by 3.9%.
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The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting will be released at 8 p.m. determined to keep them high for a while as inflation shows mixed signs.
On Tuesday, after markets closed in Europe, a Fed official said it was still too early to claim victory over inflation and end the cycle of rising interest rates, while acknowledging that the inflation was now moving in the right direction.
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The French hydrocarbon producer Maurel & Prom jumped 19.52% to 4.82 euros after announcing the takeover of the oil company Assala Energy, active in Gabon, for an amount of 730 million dollars.