The Paris Bourse is trying to extend its rebound from last week (+ 2.3%), while Wall Street is moving towards slight gains at the opening. Investors are focused on the acceleration of Omicron variant contaminations and its impact on the economy. The meeting is mainly characterized by the weakness of the activity in the absence of many speakers and lack of salient news, both in terms of the economy and businesses. In Europe, the London Stock Exchange is closed, as are the Hong Kong and Sydney stock exchanges in Asia. The end of the year promises to be heckling as central banks have adopted a less accommodating tone in the face of soaring inflation.
Financial centers have generally progressed last week, supported by good American indicators, especially as several studies suggest that, if the Omicron variant is more contagious than the previous strains, vaccination can greatly reduce the risk of hospitalization. The main White House medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, however, called for vigilance by indicating that the Omicron variant can cause congestion in hospitals even if the symptoms are apparently less severe. ” Contaminations at Omicron are increasing in the United States and in Europe, and although the markets have integrated a less virulent strain, the disruptions in goods and services due to the isolation of employees, especially in the airline sector, seem to be the cause. main consequence for the moment Writes Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda.
More than 100,000 contaminations in France
At 2:30 p.m. on Cac 40 gained 0.34% to 7,110.80 points in a business volume of 630 million euros. In Frankfurt, the Dax takes 0.32% and the FTSE Eb Milanese 0.49%. The contracts futures March on US indices gained between 0.2% and 0.5%. On Thursday, the S&P 500 hit a closing high to end within 0.4% of its all-time high. Wall Street was closed Friday, Christmas Eve.
The bar of 100,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours has been crossed in France. President Emmanuel Macron is due to hold a health defense council on Monday before presiding over a Council of Ministers during which new measures should be studied, and in particular the transformation of the health pass into a vaccination pass. Other measures should be addressed, such as reducing isolation times for infected people or simple cases of contact in order to limit the duration of sick leaves and their consequences on economic activity.
Tourism under pressure
The tourism sector is declining likeADP (–1%). In the United States, more than 1,000 flights were canceled this weekend due to the unavailability of many pilots and crew members infected with the Omicron variant. At New York, Delta Air Lines, United airlines and American Airlines respectively ceded 1.5% 2% and 1.9% on the pre-market.
Worldline yields 1.4% and thus signs the sharpest drop in the Cac 40, followed by L’Oreal (-1.3%).
Conversely, the health sector is surrounded. Sartorius Stedim Biotech earns 2.3%, Eurofins Scientific 1.8% and Sanofi 0.9%. Ipsen for its part takes 0.8%. The investment fund Parvus Asset Management Europe Limited has crossed the threshold of 5% of the capital of the pharmaceutical company, according to an opinion published by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF). As of December 21, Parvus held 5.01% of the capital and 3.18% of the voting rights of Ipsen.
Danone rose 1.8% in an attempt to rally at the end of the year which enabled it to erase the losses recorded since the beginning of January.