The Paris Bourse manages to rebound on Tuesday after two straight sessions of decline, but the movement already appears more fragile at midday. While the Cac 40 gained 1.1% at the very beginning of the morning, the lead is now reduced by almost half, the flagship index increasing by 0.65% to 6,918.06 points. The volumes are also very low, in the order of 800 million euros, which testifies to the lack of vigor of this rebound.
Cyclical and banking stocks, traditionally the quickest to profit from cheap buying, and others that had been most affected by fears about the Omicron variant, were among the strongest gains of the session. The steelmaker ArcelorMittal and the commercial property Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield earn 3.7%, Alstom 2.6%, BNP Paribas 2.5% and Renault 2.4%.
Dominant omicron
The rebound of the day, which is due to the prospect of first exchanges in the green in New York (+ 0.6% to + 0.7% depending on the indices), remains precarious, as the Omicron threat is present in everyone’s mind. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Covid variant accounted for 73% of new cases observed as of December 18, compared to 26.6% for the Delta. A week earlier, the latter constituted 87% of new cases, compared to 12.6% for Omicron (less than 3% as of December 11).
In New York City, 7,200 cases are currently seen per day (weekly average), more than twice the 3,200 the previous week. Nationwide, 130,000 cases were detected in one week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, up 7% in the past two weeks. If the symptoms of this variant appear milder, hospitals may quickly become congested, which is moreover during this holiday season.
The deadlocked Biden plan
The recent downward movement of the markets ” reflects growing uncertainty over whether Omicron’s push will lead to further sweeping restrictions, with its consequences for the economy, the unexpected suspension of additional fiscal stimulus from President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, and the breakdown , by the S&P 500 Index, of its 50-day moving average “, Explained yesterday Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, in full decline of the major American indices.
If, in Europe, we are particularly worried about the package of measures restricting the movement of the population in most of the large countries of the western part, in the United States, the uncertainty also relates to the difficulties of President Joe Biden to pass his plan of 1.750 billion dollars, “Build Back Better”, already rejected by the democratic senator Joe Manchin. ” With increasing volatility, we might see Santa Claus take over the reins of Manchin for the next two sessions. », Reassures this morning Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.
Sale appreciated at Bolloré
In the rest of business news, Sanofi (+ 0.3%) announced the acquisition of the American Amunix Pharmaceuticals, specializing in immuno-oncology for an amount of at least $ 1 billion.
Bollore, on the contrary, is negotiating the sale of Bolloré Africa Logistics, which brings together the group’s transport and logistics activities in Africa, to the maritime carrier MSC for 5.7 billion euros. Excellent reaction on the stock market, the title climbing by nearly 10%. In mid-October, the first indications on the transaction were rather 2 to 32 billion euros. Odet Company, which owns 63% of Bolloré, climbs by 14%.