The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP/Archives/ERIC PIERMONT)
The Paris Stock Exchange ended the week slightly higher, reacting without enthusiasm to the latest macroeconomic indicators published and in a context of low stock market activity due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
The flagship CAC 40 index gained 0.20%, or 14.87 points, to 7,292.80 points. On Thursday, it increased by 0.24% to 7,277.93 points. Since Monday, it has advanced 0.81%, at the end of a slow week.
“It’s Thanksgiving so there are fewer volumes, less activity,” recalls Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France. American investors are in fact away from the trading rooms, the day after a Thanksgiving holiday and before the weekend.
Among the few publications of the day, the PMI index of activity in services in the United States, compiled by S&P Global, reported progression in November, at a level higher than analysts’ forecasts.
On the other hand, the United States saw activity contract in the manufacturing sector, the decline being more marked than expected.
In France, business creations fell by 1.4% in October over one month, mainly due to a further drop in registrations of micro-entrepreneurs, INSEE said on Friday.
As for Germany, the country recorded a drop of 0.1% in its GDP in the third quarter of 2023, according to official figures confirmed on Friday, with the energy crisis weighing on the manufacturing sector, particularly in the automobile industry.
But, good news for the euro zone’s largest economy, the Ifo barometer of German business morale “is recovering a little”, for the second month in a row, and “manufacturing activity is also improving a little”, according to Alexandre Baradez.
European stock indices are having “a little difficulty in progressing” following statements “from members of the ECB who remind us that the fight against inflation is not over” and that rates risk remaining higher for longer , comments Mr. Baradez.
On the bond market, the interest rate on the ten-year French government bond stood at 3.20% compared to 3.18% at Thursday’s close.
Feverish luxury
In China, investors are once again worried about the consequences of the Chinese economic slowdown, which in France has weighed on the price of shares sensitive to the Chinese market, with luxury at the forefront.
Alexandre Baradez adds that there is “no acceleration in consumption in China”, according to data published this week, despite “economic support measures”, which also weighs on the luxury sector in Paris.
LVMH fell 0.66% to 706.90 euros and Hermès fell 0.44% to 1,951.20 euros. Kering gained 0.12% to 406.45 euros.
Saint-Gobain appoints its CEO
Benoît Bazin, current general manager of Saint-Gobain (-0.64% to 58.23 euros), will also become president of the construction materials giant next June, which announced on Thursday its decision to combine these two functions.
© 2023 AFP
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