The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP / ERIC PIERMONT)
The Paris Stock Exchange is on the path to a sixth consecutive increase on Friday (+0.42%), with investors remaining on the dynamic of the hope of more flexible central bank policies with the revival of the economy in Europe.
The star CAC 40 index advanced 34.13 points to 8,221.78 points around 9:15 a.m. On Thursday, it increased by 0.69%, to the highest since March 28, its closing record (8,205.81 points).
In Europe, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and the pan-European EuroStoxx 600 index all broke their records during the week. That at the CAC 40 session is at 8,253.59 points, also established on March 28.
Over the first four sessions of the week, the CAC 40 increased by 2.89%, its best weekly performance since the end of January 2024.
On Thursday, the stronger-than-expected increase in the number of new applications for unemployment benefits in the United States, the highest since August 2023, continued to fuel the “hope of a reduction in the key interest rate in the medium term” of the American Central Bank, explains Stephen Innes, analyst at Spi AM.
This confirms the feeling born at the end of last week thanks, already, to worse than expected employment data in the United States, easing inflationary pressures at the level of wages and highlighting the blow of poorer employment. American economy, two reasons for the American Central Bank to be more accommodating in the future.
In the United Kingdom, the decision of the Central Bank of England to keep its rates unchanged but with a majority of 7 to 2 gave investors further hope that a reduction could take place at the next meeting in June .
On the bond market, the interest rate on French bonds fell, following the trend at the end of the American session on Thursday. The rate on the 10-year loan stood at 2.95%, compared to 2.98% at Thursday’s close.
“The next meeting will be the American inflation figures for the month of April, next week, but since the beginning of the month, investors have been expecting a more accommodating monetary policy,” summarize Deutsche analysts Bank.
The news from economic activity in Europe is also rather good: the United Kingdom emerged in the first quarter from the technical recession into which it had fallen at the end of 2023, while its gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6 % during the first three months of the year, the National Statistics Office (ONS) announced on Friday.
The rebound in the economy is more marked than expected by economists, who expected an increase of 0.4%.
The rest of the session promises to be without any major indicators, other than consumer sentiment in the United States.
Legrand at the top
The electrical equipment manufacturer Legrand advanced 2.19% to 102.70 euros on Friday, the best performance of the CAC 40 during the session. It also achieved the best progression of the week (+7.41%), rebounding largely after the drop of more than 2% on Friday May 3, the day of publication of its quarterly results.
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