The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP / ERIC PIERMONT)
The Paris Stock Exchange closed down 0.27%, at the end of a seesaw session, with investors dividing their attention between the European and American central banks and an inflation indicator in the United States.
The flagship CAC 40 index fell 21.64 points, ending at 8,023.74 points. On Wednesday, it lost 0.05%, ending at 8,045.38 points.
“There is practically no news” from the last meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) “and the market reaction has been very limited,” commented Hugo Le Damany and François Cabau, economists at AXA Investment Managers .
As expected by the market, the ECB maintained its interest rates at their historic high on Thursday, while preparing the ground for a first cut in June while inflation is falling and economic activity is sluggish.
The ECB could thus begin its cycle of rate cuts before its big American sister, the Federal Reserve (Fed), faced with inflation in the United States which accelerated in March, to 3.5% over one year, according to the The CPI index published on Wednesday, exceeding forecasts.
While the market anticipated six rate cuts for the Fed in 2024 at the start of the year, it now only expects two, even pushing back the deadline for the first cut from June to September due to the “dynamism of the “American economy, which fuels inflation”, underlines Raphaël Thuin, director of capital market strategies at Tikehau Capital.
Furthermore, New York Fed President John Williams said Thursday that the monetary institution did not need to make short-term rate cuts, explaining that there is “still a way to go.” browse” so that American inflation falls to the target objective of 2%, explains Raphaël Thuin.
In terms of indicators, investors turned to the wholesale price index (PPI), measuring the rise in prices on the producer side in the United States, which offered mixed good news.
If the index climbed in March to its highest level in almost a year, over one month however, the increase in wholesale prices is only 0.2%, compared to 0.6% in February, while the Analysts forecast an increase of 0.3%, according to the Briefing.com consensus.
Finally, investors are preparing to enter the heart of the results season, which will be inaugurated on Friday by the American financial companies JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, in a context where “the profitability of companies in the first quarter” is in question, underlines Raphaël Thuin.
“The markets have also significantly revised downwards expectations for growth in corporate results,” he continues.
Publicis posts solid results
The French communications giant Publicis confirmed its annual objectives on Thursday and revealed a solid first quarter result, with a 4.9% increase in revenues, driven by its technology subsidiaries despite a difficult macroeconomic context.
The group therefore says it is confident in its ability to achieve growth in 2024 of between 4% and 5%.
The action increased by 3.08% to 103.65 euros, signing the best performance of the CAC 40 on Thursday.
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