The Paris Bourse prolongs its rebound from last week, especially as Wall Street is doing the same in the first exchanges. Investors are focused on the acceleration of Omicron variant contaminations and its impact on the economy without giving up hope of a rally at the very end of the year despite the change in tone of central banks, including policies remain accommodating for the time being. The session is mainly characterized by low activity in the absence of many speakers. In Europe, the London Stock Exchange is closed, as are the Hong Kong and Sydney stock exchanges in Asia.
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, stressing that the Omicron variant may 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 in the prices that it is 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 main consequence for the moment. This should only weigh on investors’ nerves in the short term, as the theme of recovery in 2022 remains relevant Wrote Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note this morning.
More than 100,000 contaminations in France
At 3.45 p.m., the Cac 40 gained 0.54% to 7,152.04 points. In Frankfurt, the Dax takes 0.35% and the FTSE Eb Milanese 0.66%. In New York, the Dow jones rises by 0.18%, the S&P 500, which signed a new session record from the opening of 0.50% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.68%.
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.
Cyclical stocks in support
ADP folded by 0.9% in the face of the risk of slowing down air traffic. In the United States, more than 1,300 flights were canceled Sunday 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 yield 3.4%, 3.8% and 3.7%.
Conversely, the major cyclicals are progressing. Saint Gobain increases by 1.4%, Schneider Electric by 1% after a new record and Stellantis 1.8%.
The health sector is surrounded. Sartorius Stedim Biotech earns 2.3%, Eurofins Scientific 2.7%, bioMérieux 0.9% and Sanofi 0.9%. Ipsen for its part takes 0.7%. 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 1.7% in an attempt to rally at the end of the year which enabled it to erase the losses recorded since the beginning of January.