The Paris Stock Exchange fell sharply on Friday after statements by Fed officials were poorly received on Wall Street, awaiting the publication of a key indicator on American employment and cautiously observing the situation in the Middle East.
The flagship CAC 40 index fell by 1.24 points to 8,050.64 points, around 9:40 a.m. Thursday, it finished stable (-0.02%) 8,151.55 points.
It is losing ground like its European counterparts, the broader Euro Stoxx 600 index dropping 1.10%, after declines in Asia in the wake of Wall Street.
The American market fell back on Thursday after cautious statements from members of the American central bank (Fed) and a new outbreak of oil fever against a backdrop of increased geopolitical tensions.
The appetite for risk-taking took a hit yesterday, commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote.
The rise in the price of oil – Brent moving to levels not seen for more than five months – could affect the markets’ assessment of the evolution of future inflation and therefore of the monetary policy expected from central banks, in particular the American Federal Reserve.
The push could derail the Fed from its plan of three (rate) cuts this year, explains the expert. Especially since several officials of the institution were cautious about the expected monetary movements.
The president of the Minneapolis Fed branch, Neel Kashkari, notably warned that if inflation continued to oscillate, with occasional bursts, the question would arise whether we should not abandon any rate cut. this year.
At the same time, investors will scrutinize American employment data for clues on future developments in American monetary policy.
In France, industrial production in France increased by 0.2% in February over one month, after falling by 0.9% in January. Manufacturing production, for its part, increased by 0.9%, according to INSEE.
Bureau Veritas on the market
The investment company Wendel (+0.65% to 92.90 euros) announced on Friday that it had successfully completed the sale of 9% of the capital of the French inspection and certification group Bureau Veritas (-2.72% to 27.20 euros). ), notably Bpifrance. The public investment bank thus acquires 4% of the capital of Bureau Veritas, Wendel’s main holding, which indicates that it has released approximately 1.1 billion euros in gross cash with this sale.
The operation should allow Wendel to further diversify its investments, analysts at Degroof Petercam commented in a note.