The Paris Stock Exchange fell under the pressure of oil prices while negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have so far yielded nothing. The market is also awaiting the meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m., between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping during which the American president should warn his Chinese counterpart of the consequences of aid to Moscow.
Ahead of this exchange, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken declared that the United States observes ” with concern that China is considering providing Russia with direct military assistance (…) President Biden will speak to President Xi tomorrow, and make it clear to him that China will bear responsibility for any act aimed at supporting Russian aggression, and that we will not hesitate to impose costs on it. ”, no sign being moreover perceptible as for the will of Vladimir Putin to put an end to the invasion of Ukraine.
A report from the Pentagon, elements of which are relayed by the Bloomberg agency, stipulates for its part that it is to be expected that the Russian president will once again brandish the threat to use nuclear weapons against the West if the Ukrainian resistance continues and undermines the ongoing conventional military offensive.
Volatility should rise a notch in the late morning during this session of the four witches which corresponds to the expiry of options and futures contracts on equities and indices in Europe and the United States.
Shortly before 10 a.m., the Bedroom 40 lost 0.57% to 6.57477 points in a business volume of 365 million euros.
Alleviation of fears over a Russian default
The barrel of Brent rose 1.2% to over 108 dollars after jumping 8.8% on Thursday. Like the world markets, raw materials have evolved according to hopes and disappointments on possible progress between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, but after four days of negotiations, comments from both sides confirm the feeling that the prospect of an agreement remains remote.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed near their highs on Thursday evening, supported in particular by reports that Russia avoided a default by proceeding with the payment of coupons on bonds in dollars. JPMorgan would have recovered the funds to transfer them to Citigroup, reports Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Central banks have generally cited the war in Ukraine to justify, if not confirm, their fears about inflation. Both the Fed and the Bank of England have raised interest rates, with the former expecting six more hikes this year, while the latter is more cautious. Christine Lagarde said the ECB has a margin between the end of its asset purchases this summer and a first monetary tightening, but the market is skeptical and expects a first hike before the end of the year. The Bank of Japan, for its part, kept its monetary policy unchanged while emphasizing the “ great uncertainty on the economic consequences linked to the conflict.
EDF launches a capital increase
Down at the opening, EDF is almost stable (-0.1%). The electrician announced the launch of a capital increase in the amount of more than 3.1 billion euros aimed in particular at “strengthening the financial flexibility of the group”. The electrician reports a subscription commitment from the State up to its 83.88% stake in the capital, or approximately 2.7 billion euros.
Michelin loses 1.8%. The group reported a fragile improvement in the new tire market in February, before the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine made itself felt.
Wendel increased by 2.3%. The investment company published a revalued net asset (ANR) up 18.3% over one year as of December 31, 2021 at 188.10 euros per share and indicated that it wanted to continue its equity investments this year despite an uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical context.
Beneteau rose 13% after the publication of a gross operating surplus of 181.6 million euros last year, against 141.6 million expected. Turnover stood at 1.23 billion, up 12.9% at constant exchange rates. The pleasure boat manufacturer expects revenue growth of 11% to 14% this year and operating profit of between 110 and 120 million euros.