Here’s what to remember from the stock market day of Friday, April 26. An analysis provided by the stock market experts at Meilleurtaux Placement.
The markets: D-day for the French note!
The CAC 40 marks the week on a positive note. It recorded a new weekly increase of 0.82% to close at 8088 points, +0.89% this Friday. More broadly, all Western indices are rebounding after yesterday’s difficult session. This good performance is supported by a burst of encouraging results, notably those from Alphabet, Microsoft and Saint-Gobain. Paris, Saint-Gobain stands out with an increase of more than 6.88%, praised for its robust revenues and promising prospects. On the other hand, Airbus suffered a drop of 0.92%, its quarterly results having somewhat missed expectations. The Korea PCE, the key indicator of American inflation and the Federal Reserve’s favorite, was favorably received by the markets. And it was not won! It stagnated in March at 2.8% over one year, against an expectation set at 2.6% by the market consensus. Clearly, the good corporate results overshadow the lot of speculation on rates… This evening, investors’ attention will focus on the verdict of the two rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch on the French rating.
Values: Alphabet & Microsoft, Saint-Gobain and Grolleau
Alphabet & Microsoft The two American giants posted exceptional quarterly results and supported the rise on Wall Street this afternoon. For the moment, Alphabet (Google) is up 15% this Friday, Microsoft is gaining 2.55%. +50% and +40% respectively over one year. The growth of their Cloud activities and their advances in artificial intelligence are boosting results. For Microsoft: +17% in revenue over one year, largely thanks to Azure, its cloud computing services division which benefits fully from the partnership with OpenAI (Chat GPT). Alphabet surprised investors by announcing the first dividend in its history, for 2.5 billion, in addition to a new large-scale share buyback program. Revenues from the Cloud division grew by 28.4%, supported by the increased adoption of AI solutions. Alphabet’s capitalization soared by around $250 billion in just a few moments and reached a new all-time high. Now, Alphabet is worth more than $2.1 trillion on the stock market… Saint Gobain Largely first in the CAC, the construction materials specialist gained 6.88% this evening, 75.24 (+12% in 2024). More than its results which exceeded expectations, it was above all its forecasts which attracted attention. Despite an 8.5% drop in revenues over one year, the company estimates that it has reached a low in terms of volumes, with a positive trend in Europe where the group expects an increase in demand in the coming months. Europe represents a crucial part of Saint-Gobain’s revenues. Management also confirms its double-digit operating margin objective for 2024. The analysis offices Oddo BHF and Stifel recommend buying the stock and confirm the good outlook for sales in 2024. Grolleau The French player in the digital transformation of infrastructure, eligible for the PEA-PME, gained 6.23% this evening 6.14 after winning a major contract to supply electrical transformation stations. This contract could bring him more than 15 million euros over three years, with the possibility of renewal. Production will begin at the end of 2024, with an increase planned for 2026. This project represents a significant advance for the group, thus strengthening its position in the energy sector, a market with high growth potential given the forecasts of increase in electricity consumption in France. The stock gains nearly 19% in 2024.
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The world after: Bye bye Paris?
Will the Paris Stock Exchange lose one of its best values? It’s the rumor that’s making noise this Friday. The general director of Total, Patrick Pouyann, mentioned for the first time that he was considering moving the main listing of Total from the Paris Stock Exchange to that of New York. His reflection would be officially motivated by the growing predominance of North American shareholders who now hold almost half of Total’s capital. European investors are more hesitant about owning shares of the oil group, while their American counterparts continue to show increased interest. However, the company’s head office would remain Paris, according to Pouyann. This change would also respond to European criticism of Total’s continued investments in fossil fuels, despite its massive investments in the energy transition.