The control room of Euronext, the company that manages the Paris Stock Exchange (AFP/Archives/ERIC PIERMONT)
The Paris Stock Exchange ended sharply down 1.58% on Wednesday, its worst session since September, in the face of investor caution and a decline in the luxury market.
The flagship CAC 40 index lost 119 points to 7,411.86 points. On Tuesday, it ended the first session of the year down 0.16%.
The Parisian rating was notably dragged down by a decline in the luxury sector, abandoned by investors looking for low-risk assets that were not very sensitive to a rise in interest rates.
LVMH notably ended down 3.82% to 695.40 euros, Kering 3.03% to 381.15 euros and Hermès 1.91% to 1,861.20 euros.
Luxury is “a sector which increased significantly at the end of the year” and therefore “one of the first to suffer from profit taking”, comments Christopher Dembik, strategy advisor at Pictet AM. Added to this, according to him, is a reluctance on the part of customers with “a Chinese economy which remains a little behind in terms of economic recovery”.
The end of 2023 was particularly positive for equity markets, thanks to expectations of central banks easing monetary policy early in 2024.
Now investors are wondering if the markets have been too optimistic.
Before the publication on Friday of the monthly report on employment in the United States for December, “market participants remain cautious”, comments Andreas Lipkow, independent analyst who adds that “the specter of interest rates is back on the markets financial markets and scares off investors, particularly in the interest-rate-sensitive technology market.
Atos and Airbus discuss cybersecurity
The heavily indebted IT group Atos announced on Wednesday that it was in preliminary discussions with Airbus for the sale of its branch specializing in big data and cybersecurity, which the aeronautics group also confirmed.
The stock jumped more than 11% in early trading, but ended the session down 5.75% to 6.59 euros. Airbus lost 2.92% to 137.16 euros.
Alstom abandoned
The action of French railway manufacturer Alstom fell 9.90% to 10.97 euros. The group, indebted to the tune of 3.4 billion euros, is penalized by the rise in bond interest rates observed over the past week.
The Barclays bank has also lowered its price target for Alstom shares (from 8.5 euros to 8 euros), considering it overvalued given the context of economic slowdown which should result in weak growth in the group’s revenues. in 2024.
The stock is now at its lowest level since 2005, a period when the group refocused its activities and straightened out its finances.
© 2024 AFP
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