The flagship CAC 40 index rose 8.45 points to 7,324.75 points, the day after a decline of 0.39%.
On Friday and Monday, the French market, like other European stock exchanges, will remain closed for the Easter weekend.
Over the week, the CAC 40 posted an increase of +0.03%.
Yann Azuelos, fund manager at Mirabaud, notes a “caution before the long Easter weekend, which explains a very soft session”.
The market is also “waiting for the employment report in the United States, which will give a little more volatility”, he adds.
Investors had been hoping for months for signs of easing in the US labor market and an economic slowdown to see an imminent end to the Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike cycles, a scenario that is getting closer, according to Yann Azuelos.
Several worse-than-expected economic indicators are raising fears, however, because they raise the risk of the economy contracting.
The data for the next few days on employment and inflation in the United States will be decisive in determining whether or not the American central bank (Fed) will increase its key rate by another 25 basis points at its next meeting in May.
“Next week will be more sporty,” confirms Yann Azuelos.
Luxury weighs
Luxury stocks weighed on the CAC 40 trend.
The action of the luxury group Kering lost 1.79% to 555.40 euros, penalized by a note from RBC which anticipates lower growth than that of its peers for the first quarter.
The titles of LVMH (-1.84% to 829.10 euros) and the cosmetics giant L’Oréal (-3.21% to 410.10 euros) also fell.
TotalEnergies under climate pressure
A coalition of investors led by the shareholder activism organization Follow This intends to table an advisory resolution at the general meeting of shareholders of the TotalEnergies group so that it “aligns its objectives for reducing” greenhouse gas emissions on the Paris agreement for 2030. The action gained 0.63% to 57.50 euros.
Airbus on Chinese soil
Airbus will thus double its production capacity of A320 family aircraft on Chinese soil, the executive chairman of the European aircraft manufacturer Guillaume Faury announced on Thursday. Its title rose by 1.45% to 126.18 euros.