The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP / ERIC PIERMONT)
The Paris Stock Exchange fell by 0.89% on Thursday, weighed down by the results considered disappointing by the IT group Dassault Systèmes and the leading French bank BNP Paribas, which dragged down the banking sector with it.
The flagship CAC 40 index lost 68 points, to 7,588.75 points. On Wednesday, it finished down 0.27%, thus failing to beat its closing record for a fourth time in a row, not without having established a new high at 7,702.27 points at the start of the session.
The session was marked by the publication of inflation in the euro zone in January, which slowed slightly, to 2.8% year-on-year, but lower than analysts’ forecasts.
Overall, this near stagnation in inflation should reassure the European Central Bank (ECB) in the idea that the fight is not over to bring the rise in consumer prices back to its 2% target.
“The stagnation of services inflation will reassure the ECB in the idea that it is necessary to be cautious” before a possible rate cut, estimated Juliette Cohen, member of the CPU AM strategy team.
Yasser Talbi, bond manager at Indosuez Wealth Management, underlines that the ECB could revise downward its inflation projections in March, a signal which “would be seen as very positive” for the markets with a view to a rate cut soon .
Investors also had to digest the announcements from the American Federal Reserve (Fed) the day before. The American central bank has ruled out the possibility of a first rate cut in March, but has not closed the door to a rate reduction in May.
On the bond market, the interest rate of the French State at 10 years, the benchmark maturity, rose from 2.66% to 2.64%, after falling significantly on Wednesday.
BNP sanctioned
The results of the banking giant BNP Paribas were punished on the stock market on Thursday, its record net profit for the third consecutive year being overshadowed by the difficulties encountered in the consumer credit and real estate businesses.
The bank’s shares fell 9.21% to 56.79 euros, the worst session for the group in almost a year. It led to Société Générale (-4.01% to 23 euros) and Crédit Agricole (-2.81% to 12.94 euros).
Anke Reingen, RBC analyst, judged “disappointing”, in a note, the downward revision of the annualized rate of return on equity (ROTE) objective, announced Thursday by the bank on the sidelines of the 2023 financial data.
Dassault Systèmes plummets
Worst fall of the CAC 40, the French software group Dassault Systèmes fell by 10.36% to 43.24 euros, after results “a little below expectations” according to Stifel analysts, particularly in the sale of licenses. This is its worst session since March 2020.
Euronext CAC40