The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP / ERIC PIERMONT)
The Paris Stock Exchange finished close to balance (+0.05%) on Friday, supported by the dynamics of American tech giants but held back by figures which remove the prospect of a drop in interest rates so soon than hoped.
The flagship CAC 40 index advanced 3.51 points to 7,592.26 points. On Thursday, it lost 0.89%, penalized by the poor reception of results from BNP Paribas and Dassault Systèmes.
Over the week, it fell 0.55%.
The session started well, thanks to the momentum given by the American giants Meta and Amazon, whose company results delighted investors.
But mid-session, the report on the American job market came to play spoilsport.
In January, 353,000 jobs were created, according to figures released Friday by the Labor Department. This is twice as much as expected by analysts.
“Not only is there the figure for this month, but also the figures for December and November have been revised” upwards, underlines Charlotte de Montpellier, ING economist.
In addition, the average hourly wage increased by 0.6% instead of the expected 0.3%.
These figures “clearly change the situation regarding forecasts of a reduction in key interest rates” from central banks, analyst Charlotte de Montpellier.
“Already, after the Federal Reserve meeting” earlier this week, the market had been “less confident” regarding the possibility of a first rate cut in March. From now on, “we can no longer count on this scenario at all,” believes Charlotte de Montpellier.
“Eyes are now once again on the Fed speakers to find out their feelings about these rather incredible figures,” anticipates Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France.
On the bond market, the interest rates on US loans rose significantly after this publication, and by extension, those of European states as well.
The interest rate on the ten-year French government bond stood at 2.74%, compared to 2.66% at Thursday’s close.
On the other hand, “growth in the American economy is still better than a recession for the stock markets,” underlines Charlotte from Montpellier.
In terms of indicators in France, industrial production increased by 1.1% over one month in December, and manufacturing production alone by 1.2%, INSEE announced on Friday.
Bad publicity for Publicis
A subsidiary of French advertising giant Publicis will pay $350 million to the United States for its role in the country’s opioid crisis, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people since 1999, the prosecutor announced on Thursday. State of New York.
It is the first advertising agency to reach a settlement with the courts for its role in the opioid crisis.
“Publicis Health was reimbursed up to $130 million by its insurers. Consequently, the group recorded a non-recurring provision of $213 million before tax in the fourth quarter of 2023,” Publicis explained in a press release. The action ended stable (+0.04%) at 92.82 euros.
Euronext CAC40