The flagship index of the Paris Stock Exchange is moving to an eight-week high, supported by good corporate results, in Europe and the United States. The reception is all the more favorable as the macroeconomic and geopolitical situation has fueled fears of a deterioration in corporate performance.
Weekly jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 260,000 across the Atlantic, as expected, while the previous week’s balance was revised down from 256,000 to 254,000. The announcement is of some significance on the eve of the release of the July jobs report.
Shortly before 3 p.m., the Bedroom 40 rose by 0.80% to 6,524.04 points, after a peak at 6,555.71 (+ 1.29%) in a business volume of 1 billion euros. The star index in Paris, which made a good comeback, reduced its loss to less than 9% over the year, against 19.1% at the beginning of July. The contracts future September on US indices gain between 0.1% and 0.3%. Ali Baba reaps 6% ahead of the stock market. China’s Amazon posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and said it saw a recovery in consumption in July, despite stagnating sales, the first since its listing on the NYSE, amid health restrictions in China.
The Bank of England raises its voice
The more aggressive turn of the central banks is confirmed, however, with the increase, in line with expectations, of 50 basis points in the repo rate of the Bank of England, now at 1.75%. It is its biggest rate hike since 1995 and the sixth since December 2021. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street has also raised its inflation forecast to 13% by the end of the year, against around 10% estimated in May.
The equity markets held up well to the tensions on the bond markets resulting from the tightening of monetary policies to stem inflation, at the risk of triggering a recession. The attitude of the Fed and the question of the extent of its next monetary tightening seem to have been relegated to the background, although several central bank officials have warned against false hope, the key word remaining the fight against inflation. ” Absent clear signs of a return to positive macro momentum, the temporary boost in risk appetite may actually reinforce the possibility of another market relapse rather than signaling the end of the bear market “, indicate the strategists of Goldman Sachs.
Crédit Agricole better than expected, rumors about Ubisoft
Agricultural credit increased by 4.2%. Like BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, the green bank published results above expectations for the second quarter, thanks to a record level of activity in investment banking. BNP Paribas and Societe Generale follow with gains of 1.4% and 1% respectively.
Air France-KLM advance of 2.1% while Lufthansa (+4.6% in Frankfurt) announced that it expects further growth in its results thanks to a strong increase in demand. The German company anticipates in particular a “ significant growth of its third quarter results in sequential data.
HIS fall of 8.7%. The satellite operator declined to comment on the information from the FinancialTimes that he is discussing a possible merger with the American Intelsat. SES also confirmed its financial targets for 2022, after a first half supported by its Networks division and confirming the decline in video activities.
Finally, Ubisoft jumped 14% following rumours, relayed by Reuters, according to which the Chinese Tencent intends to strengthen its stake in the video game publisher, in which it took a 5% stake in 2018.