The Paris Bourse begins its first session of 2022 in the green after closing 2021 with a gain of almost 29%, its best annual performance since 1999. The trend benefits from the good orientation of contracts futures on American indices. The activity is however once again symbolic with barely 260 million euros traded on the flagship index due to the closure of many financial places on Monday, including the London Stock Exchange.
At 9:30 am, the Cac 40 gained 0.92% to 7,218.53 points after a new session record of 7,223.15.
In Asia, Tokyo, Sydney and Chinese places are closed on Monday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.65% on Monday after losing 14.1% last year, one of the worst performances among the major world markets. Evergrande shares have been suspended from listing pending the release of a press release from the property developer, which failed to honor bond-related coupons in the amount of $ 255 million due last Thursday. The group has a 30-day grace period to honor this payment.
Less disruption to economic activity
At the time of the balance sheets and the outlook, investors want to display a certain optimism, if only on the face of it, when, if the Omicron variant is clearly more contagious than the previous strains, it is also deemed to be less dangerous, if the ‘we believe the data on hospitalizations. The risks associated with the pandemic are expected to decrease, especially as China is on the way to easing its monetary policy. Generally, ” our economists anticipate less disruption to economic activity and aim for above-trend global growth in the first quarter, particularly in Asia. Regarding the Fed’s monetary tightening, the peak of disruption for the markets is also close “, Summarize the strategists of JPMorgan based in Hong Kong in a note quoted by Bloomberg.
Inflation and central banks in the sights
Investors will keep an eye on the development of inflation and the response of central banks. Many strategists predict an increase in volatility in the face of these unknowns. The week which begins will be marked in particular by the first estimate of December inflation in the euro zone, as well as by the employment report for the same month in the United States.
In the meantime, the market will monitor the PMI Markit manufacturing activity indices in the euro zone and the United States on Monday, as well as construction spending across the Atlantic in November.
On the value side, TotalEnergies gained 1.6% in the wake of the 1.3% increase in the barrel of Brent from the North Sea. Libya has reduced production due to ongoing repairs to facilities damaged by attacks on the country’s main fields. Opec + is due to meet on Tuesday to discuss an increase in production in February.
The luxury sector is also surrounded. L’Oreal takes the lead in the Cac 40 with a gain of 2.5%. Hermes takes 0.9% and LVMH 0.7%.
Great (+ 0.6%), Michelin (+ 1.9%), Schneider Electric (+ 1.4%) and Pernod Ricard (+ 0.9%) started the year with new records.
Air France-KLM gains 2.8% and ADP 1.6% while Citi raised its recommendation on the two securities to “sell” to “neutral”.