A few days before Christmas and the truce for confectioners, the Paris Stock Exchange continued its forward march. Uninspired for much of the session, the Cac 40 accelerated after the publication of better-than-expected US statistics. The barometer ended up 1.24%, at 7,051.67 points. The only downside is that this growth was achieved in relatively low transaction volumes, in the order of 2.8 billion euros.
In the United States, the indicators of the day reassured. Thus, the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter was revised to 2.3% at an annualized rate in final data, against 2.1% estimated until then. It was mainly driven by the 2% increase in the component of consumer spending (1.7% previously). Home sales rose 1.9% between October and November, to 6.46 million units at an annualized rate against a backdrop of good labor market performance and the prospect of rate hikes in 2022, not far from the 6 , 53 million anticipated. Finally, consumer confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, increased more than expected in December, to 115.8, against 111 expected. Surprising as it may sound, Conference Board economic research director Lynn Franco notes that household worries about inflation and the epidemic have receded despite continuing tensions.
It’s “not March 2020”
Not to dramatize the situation, that was the watchword of US President Joe Biden, who spoke on Tuesday evening. He refused to panic despite the surge in the number of cases of contamination. It’s not ” not March 2020 “, He launched to the journalists gathered at the White House. ” 200 million people are fully immunized, we are ready, we know more “. There are also reasons to be less gloomy on the Omicron variant. Various data from the United Kingdom and South Africa suggest that the strain is more contagious, but less virulent.
” The next battle in the war on Covid will prompt the United States and the United Kingdom to rush to secure supplies of treatment for the virus, says Edward Moya, analyst at Oanda. The Biden administration is expected to acquire 4 million doses of treatment by the end of January, while the UK has obtained 1.75 million pills from Merck and another 2.5 million from Pfizer. Omicron has shown that unvaccinated individuals still represent a significant portion of the infected population in highly vaccinated countries and that hospital capacity is shrinking rapidly. Concern shared in Germany “.
Positive results for Valneva in chikungunya
On the value side, Saint Gobain (+ 1.52%) strengthens its leadership position in the sustainable construction markets in India, by acquiring Rockwool India, for an undisclosed amount. The company, which has two factories with a total capacity of 50,000 tonnes, markets insulation products with thermal, acoustic and fire-resistant properties.
Alstom (+ 1.41%) will supply at least 25 high-speed trains to Swedish public rail operator Statens Järnvägar. The amount of this order has been estimated at around SEK 7 billion, or EUR 680 million.
Finally, Valneva climbed 6.12%. The Franco-Austrian laboratory recorded new ” initial positive results For its vaccine against chikungunya, currently in phase III.
CP