The Paris Stock Exchange suffered heavy losses on Monday, fearing that tensions over Ukraine, which increased over the weekend, could escalate into an armed conflict.
The star CAC 40 index lost 159.40 points, or 2.27%, 6,852.20 points. It thus undergoes a third consecutive session of decline, after having already cd 1.27% Friday and 0.41% Thursday.
The Parisian coast plunged from the opening, brushing its low for the year at midday, 6,758.05 points, losing more than 3.50%. It then rebounded in the early afternoon, but ended sharply lower, its second worst drop of the year, after January 24.
Investors have had to digest the escalation of tensions between Russia and the United States and Europe since the close on Friday over Ukraine.
Again on Monday, the G7 said it was ready to impose sanctions with massive consequences for Russia in the event of military aggression against Ukraine.
This subject has been one of the main catalysts for the markets for about ten days, along with the monetary tightening in the United States. But it is difficult to control and anticipate, summarizes Andrea Tueni, analyst at Saxo Bank.
The respite at midday was notably allowed by the declaration of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who still saw a chance of compromise with the West.
But we feel that it remains fragile. The environment is undecided, and in this case, investors are moving away from risky assets, such as stocks, describes Mr. Tuni.
Conversely, market players favor safer investments, such as bonds. Thus, yields on the sovereign debt market fell sharply in the morning, the 10-year French falling in session 0.70% against 0.77% at the close on Friday.
But the movement stopped with the prospect of imminent monetary tightening in the United States, with the French 10-year yield finally settling at 0.75%.
To fight against inflation, which reached 7.5% over one year in January, the American Federal Reserve has been speaking aggressively for several weeks, and brokers feel it is ready to take action soon with vigorous increases in its rates. directors, its main tool against rising prices.
James Bullard, the president of the St. Louis Fed, known for his positions in favor of a tougher policy, asserted that it was at stake for the credibility of the Fed to act.
Despite this difficult Monday, the market has proven its ability to rebound several times in recent months. It is not impossible to make up the losses by the end of the week, nuance Mr. Tuni.
Banks pay the most
The banking sector suffered the most from the market environment, with the crisis in Ukraine and falling bond yields. Socit Generale plunged by 6.05% to 33.80 euros, BNP Paribas by 4.85% to 61.75 euros and Crédit Agricole by 3.53% to 13.56 euros. The insurer Axa also fell 2.97% to 27.58 euros.
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Industrial and mining cornered
Other victims of the movement, the values most sensitive to economic activity, and seen by investors as more risky. Renault fell by 4.33% to 34.39 euros, Saint-Gobain by 2.68% to 60.63 euros, Stellantis by 2.51% to 16.34 euros.
Mining ArcelorMittal also dropped 6.26% to 26.34 euros and Aperam 1.56% to 51.74 euros.
TF1 is still surfing on its results
Among the rare values on the expanded SBF 120 index to be in the green, TF1 gained 1.28% to 9.10 euros, after its good results at the end of last week. M6 grabbed 0.21% to 18.70 euros.
Orpea attempted a new rebound, taking 5.83% to 37.04 euros.
Technology stocks like OVH Cloud (+0.90% to 23.04 euros) or Ubisoft (+0.08% to 50.44 euros) also held up well.