The Paris Stock Exchange fell 0.24% on Thursday in early trading, a few hours before the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) from which investors are awaiting information to gauge its next monetary policy decisions.
The flagship CAC 40 index fell by 19.47 points to 7,935.53 points around 9:35 a.m. (08:35 GMT). On Wednesday, it gained 0.28%.
Investors’ eyes are on Frankfurt, with the ECB’s decision on its key interest rates at 2:15 p.m., then the press conference of its president Christine Lagarde thirty minutes later.
Investors have no doubt about the maintenance of key rates, with the rate on deposits, which is the benchmark, expected to remain at its historically high level of 4% as it has been since October.
If a downward cycle starting in 2024 seems certain, the question now is to know when and at what pace.
To try to anticipate it, the markets can count on the quarterly update of the institution’s economic forecasts, which give an overview of its confidence in the probability that inflation will return to the 2% target, compared to 2.6%. in February in the euro zone.
There is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about when Europeans could possibly start cutting rates, as many policymakers have pushed back against expectations of a cut too soon, confirms Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank.
On Wednesday, before Congress in Washington, the President of the American Central Bank Jerome Powell validated the rate cuts this year without providing information on the exact timing of the start of the rate cut cycle or its extent, analysts summarize from Natixis.
Several company results have again been published on the Parisian coast and only Vivendi remains for this season in the flagship index, scheduled for after the close on Thursday.
Teleperformance unscrews again
The global call center giant Teleperformance sought on Wednesday to minimize the fears raised by the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on its activity, after having seen its title recently shaken on the stock market due to this technology.
But the results were less good than expected and caused the price to fall again. It fell by 19.12% to 90.46 euros, a drop of 31% in 2024 and 64% over one year.
M6 wins the world
M6 will broadcast unencrypted matches from the 2026 World Cup and the 2030 World Cup after acquiring the rights in place of the competition’s historic broadcaster, TF1, its president, Nicolas de Tavernost, announced on Thursday. On Wednesday, the channel also lifted the veil on its future free platform, M6+, expected in May before the Euro. The stock advanced 0.12% to 12.74 euros.
JCdecaux not sufficient
The French advertising display giant JCDecaux generated a net profit of 209.2 million euros in 2023, up 58.3%, thanks to the resumption of transport and its digital activities, it announced on Thursday. But the action fell by 6.01% to 18.31 euros.