The Paris Stock Exchange ended slightly up 0.11% on Thursday, thanks to the dynamism of American growth and after an unsurprising meeting of the European Central Bank.
The flagship CAC 40 index advanced 8.56 points to 7,464.20 points. Over the first four sessions of the week, it rose by 1.26%.
After initial slightly rising exchanges, the Parisian coast turned red in the middle of the session. It rose again after the publication of American growth in the fourth quarter, which was stronger than expected. Investors also noted that inflation had continued to moderate, around 2% excluding energy and food over the last three months of 2024.
But attention in Europe was on the European Central Bank (ECB), which was holding its first meeting of the year. For the third time in a row since October, the Frankfurt institution has maintained its rates at a record level.
The ECB has shown itself to be reassured by the recent evolution of inflation and has notably removed from its final press release the reference to price tensions, notes Valentine Ainouz, strategist and head of global bond strategy at Amundi. Investment Institute.
The labor market also brings positive signs to the monetary institution, notes Ms. Ainouz.
The ECB meeting led to a clear easing of rates on the bond market. The interest rate on the 10-year French bond, which is the benchmark, fell to 2.78%, compared to 2.84% at the close on Wednesday. For the 2-year loan, it ended at around 2.56%, compared to 2.65% on Wednesday.
Christine Lagarde, however, remains cautious about the next stage of monetary policy, the cycle of rate cuts. There was consensus within the Governing Council that it was premature to discuss rate cuts for the eurozone, she told the press conference.
The next meeting, in March, will be eagerly awaited because the Central Bank will have a whole series of indicators on wages and the dynamism of the labor market, and will also have to update its inflation and growth projections, which may be the The opportunity for a significant change in discourse falls to Ms. Ainouz.
At the end of 2023, investors were counting on a reduction in key rates from March, but central bankers repeated in 2024 that this was not on the agenda.
Publicis bets on AI
The French advertising giant Publicis will invest 300 million euros over three years for its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, in order to put this technology at the heart of its activities.
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Before publishing all of its results on February 8, Publicis announced that its organic growth for the year 2023 was 6.3%, a performance above the target range of +5.5% + 6% which was revised upwards in October, he said.
Its action gained 3.61% to 91.96 euros and reached its highest historical level.
STMicroelectronics cautious
The Franco-Italian manufacturer of electronic components STMicroelectronics recorded a net profit of $4.2 billion for the 2023 financial year, up 6.3%, driven in particular by strong demand for chips in the automotive sector.
The growth prospects for 2024, however, have disappointed investors and are worse than feared, according to analysts at Oddo BHF.
The action fell by 0.48% to 42.41 euros. In the same sector, Soitec lost 2.59% to 138.95 euros.