End of session. The Paris Bourse bell rang for the last time of the year on Friday. Markets are now closed until January 2. Overall, 2021 will have been an excellent year for investors. But if several titles were able to pull their pin from the game, for others, the fall is vertiginous.
This Tuesday, December 28, the CAC 40 once again broke all records. After having peaked 7,183.08 points in the session, the flagship index of the Place de Paris closed 7181.11 points. Never seen.
Last November, the CAC 40 had already dropped its previous record (6,922.33 points), which remained untouchable for more than 20 years. Result? After a slight decline in 2020 (-7%), the Place de Paris ended the year 2021 with a bang: its flagship index recorded a spectacular increase of + 28.46%.
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An excellent vintage
It must be said that after several months of paralysis in 2020, the world economy has set off again on the hats of the wheel. According to the latest macroeconomic projections from the Banque de France, GDP growth should thus reach 6.7% in 2021.
Another strong signal for investors: excellent financial results published by companies in the third quarter of 2021. Supported by the global economic recovery, the figures are exceeding all expectations. Socit Gnrale, for example, recorded a quarterly profit of 1.6 billion euros, the best result in its history.
Even the bell on the side of Airbus, for whom the skies are clearing after a difficult 2020. Despite the persistence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the many measures deployed by our teams have made it possible to achieve solid performance (…). We are therefore able to raise our 2021 forecasts, despite the always unpredictable context, said Guillaume Faury, the group’s executive chairman.
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Good results that companies have not hesitated to share with their shareholders. For example, the agri-food group Danone announced the launch of a share buyback program going up to 800million euros. ArcelorMittal is planning a similar program for a maximum amount of € 1 billion.
the constant support from central banks the economy also reassured the markets throughout the year. During its last meetings, the European Central Bank did not have an aggressive speech at all, and rejected the prospect of a rate hike next year, already anticipated by investors, explains Alexandre Baradez, analyst at IG France.
Result: the majority of CAC 40 stocks recorded strong increases. In detail, if the start of the year mainly benefited tech stocks, the banking and luxury sectors recorded the most impressive growth. On the podium, we find Socit Gnrale (+ 77.09%), Herms Intl (+ 75.65%) and Capgemini (+ 70.66%).
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The stocks that have made the most progress in 2021
- General Company (+ 77.09% 30.14 euros)
- Herms Intl (+ 75.65% 1545euros)
- Capgemini (+ 70.66% 216.40 euros)
- Veolia (+ 68.87% 32.58euros)
- Saint Gobain (+ 65.17% 61.94 euros)
- Dassault Systmes (+ 61.15% 53.55 euros)
- Eurofins Scientific (+ 60.98% 110.48euros)
- Arcelormittal (+ 51.77% 28.65euros)
- Publicis Groupe (+ 50.98% 59.36euros)
- Essilorluxottica (+ 48.33% 187.76 euros)
- Schneider Electric (+ 46.39% 173.18 euros)
- Stmicroelectronics (+ 45.44% 44.04 euros)
- LVMH (+ 43.04% 730.80 euros)
- Teleperformance (+ 43.02% 388euros)
- BNP Paribas (+ 41.10% 60.82euros)
- Great (+ 40.55% 102.60 euros)
- Stellantis (+ 38.16% 16.83euros)
- Michelin (+ 37.73% 144.55 euros)
- Oral (+ 35.49% 421.10 euros)
- AXA (+ 34.84% 26.31 euros)
Values as of December 29, 2021.
But not all companies are doing their best. While some titles are barely breaking even, such as Thals (+ 0.59%), others are plunging completely. This is particularly the case for the payment services specialist Worldline, which recorded a spectacular drop (-37.97%).
The Alstom rail glove also closed 2021 in the red (-32.56%), penalized by an integration of Bombardier more expensive than expected. After suffering a historic net loss of more than 8 billion euros in 2020, the car manufacturer Renault, meanwhile, posted the third largest loss of the year (-15.97%).
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Stocks that fell in 2021
- Worldline (-37.97% 49.06 euros)
- Alstom (-32.56% 31.21 euros)
- Renault (-15.97% 30.05 euros)
- Vivendi (-9.44% 11.945euros)
- Saffron (-7.82% 106.88euros)
- Bouygues (-7.70% 31.06 euros)
- Orange (-3.23% 9.42 euros)
Values stopped on December 29, 2021 (they will be updated on Monday January 3, 2022).
A big question remains: what next? As 2022 approaches, the Omicron variant and the return of inflation are on everyone’s lips. Still, investors remain optimistic. Questioned by AFP, Nicolas Chron, strategist at Zonebourse, believes that the markets look after the Covid, are projected in 2022. However, this will be a year in line with the major rebound of 2021: Global GDP is expected to grow faster than the average for the past 20 years, albeit less than in 2021, which will have an impact on business results.
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